Training of Teachers

House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee

Fourth Report of Session 2009–10

Volume II

Oral and written evidence

Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 18 January 2010

HC 275-II [Incorporating HC 369-i to -v, Session 2008–09] Published on 9 February 2010 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £26.50

The Children, Schools and Families Committee

The Children, Schools and Families Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Children, Schools and Families and its associated public bodies.

Membership at time Report agreed Mr Barry Sheerman MP (Labour, Huddersfield) (Chairman) Annette Brooke MP (Liberal Democrat, Mid Dorset & Poole North) Ms Karen Buck MP (Labour, Regent’s Park & Kensington North) Mr Douglas Carswell MP (Conservative, Harwich) Mr David Chaytor MP (Labour, Bury North) Mrs Sharon Hodgson MP (Labour, Gateshead East & Washington West) Paul Holmes MP (Liberal Democrat, Chesterfield) Fiona Mactaggart MP (Labour, Slough) Mr Andrew Pelling MP (Independent, Croydon Central) Helen Southworth MP (Labour, Warrington South) Mr Graham Stuart MP (Conservative, Beverley & Holderness) Mr Edward Timpson MP (Conservative, Crewe & Nantwich) Derek Twigg MP (Labour, Halton) Lynda Waltho MP (Labour, Stourbridge)

The following members were also members of the Committee during the inquiry.

Mr John Heppell MP (Labour, Nottingham East) Mr Andy Slaughter MP (Labour, Ealing, Acton and Shepherd’s Bush)

Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk

Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/csf/

Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Kenneth Fox (Clerk), Anne-Marie Griffiths (Second Clerk), Emma Wisby (Committee Specialist), Judith Boyce (Committee Specialist), Jenny Nelson (Senior Committee Assistant), Kathryn Smith (Committee Assistant), Sharon Silcox (Committee Support Assistant), and Brendan Greene (Office Support Assistant).

Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Children, Schools and Families Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6181; the Committee’s e- mail address is csfcom@parliament

Witnesses

Monday 23 March 2009 Page

Professor Pat Broadhead, Chair, Training, Advancement and Co-operation in Teaching Young Children (TACTYC); Di Chilvers, Early Years Regional Advisor, National Strategies; Professor Elizabeth Wood, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter, and Sally Yates, Vice-Chair, Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Ev 16

Monday 20 April 2009

Keith Bartley, Chief Executive, General Teaching Council for England (GTCE); Professor Sonia Blandford, Director of Leadership Development, Teach First; Professor Chris Husbands, Dean, Faculty of Culture and Pedagogy, Institute of Education, University of London, and Professor Roger Woods, Chair, Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Ev 56

Monday 27 April 2009

John Bangs, Assistant Secretary, National Union of Teachers; Tim Benson, Member, National Council, National Association of Head Teachers; Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary, Association of Teachers and Lecturers; Dr John Dunford OBE, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders, and Chris Keates, General Secretary, National Association of Ev 119 Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers

Dr Jeanne Keay, Dean, School of Education, Roehampton University; Gerry O’Keeffe, Director, Customer Support Division, Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board, and Sarah Stephens, Director of Policy, General Teaching Council for England Ev 130

Monday 8 June 2009

Toni Fazaeli, Chief Executive, Institute for Learning; David Hunter, Chief Executive, Lifelong Learning UK; Stella Mbubaegbu CBE, Association of Colleges, and Dr Michael Thrower, General Secretary, Principals’ Professional Council Ev 164

Monday 15 June 2009

Graham Holley, Chief Executive; Michael Day, Executive Director for Training; Liz Francis, Director, Workforce Strategy Directorate, and Dr Jacqueline Nunn, Training and Development, Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) Ev 180

Mr Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and Jon Coles, Director General, Schools Directorate, Department for Children, Schools and Families Ev 203

List of written evidence

Page

1 Training, Advancement and Co-operation in Teaching Young Children (TACTYC) Ev 1 2 University of Exeter, School of Education Ev 7 3 Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) Ev 11: Ev 75 4 General Teaching Council for England Ev 36: Ev 136: Ev 151 5 Teach First Ev 46: Ev 73: Ev 357 6 Institute of Education, University of London Ev 50 7 National Union of Teachers (NUT) Ev 77 8 National Association of Head Teachers Ev 101 9 Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) Ev 105 10 Association of School and College Leaders Ev 109 11 NASUWT Ev 113 12 OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) Ev 127 13 Institute for Learning (IfL) Ev 152 14 Lifelong Learning UK Ev 157 15 Association of Colleges Ev 160 16 Principals’ Professional Council (PPC) Ev 162 17 Training and Development Agency for Schools Ev 173: Ev 188: Ev 358 18 Department for Children, Schools and Families Ev 189 19 Professor Andy Goodwyn, Head of Education, University of Reading Ev 213 20 Citizenship Foundation Ev 216 21 Dr Neil Simco, Dean of Education Faculty and Dean for Research, University of Cumbria Ev 220 22 Dr A Gardiner, University of Birmingham Ev 222 23 Mike Younger, Head of Faculty, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge Ev 225 24 Afasic Ev 229 25 Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) Ev 231 26 TreeHouse Ev 233 27 National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) Ev 235: Ev 239 28 Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) Ev 240 29 Multiverse Ev 245 30 National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Ev 248 31 Universities UK Ev 250 32 Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute of Education Ev 255 33 Dr John Oversby, Institute of Education, Reading University Ev 258 34 Gatsby Charitable Foundation Ev 261 35 National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) Ev 267 36 Jackie Garratt, MA in Education, Teacher Trainer Ev 270 37 GuildHE Ev 271 38 University of Birmingham Ev 276

39 Dr Anne Storey, Mrs Freda Wolfenden, and Mrs Elizabeth Bird, The Open University Ev 280 40 Geographical Association Ev 286 41 Early Childhood Forum Ev 291 42 Institute of Physics Ev 292 43 Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) Ev 297 44 National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Ev 301 45 Association for Physical Education (afPE) Ev 305 46 Edge Foundation Ev 312 47 National Network of Science Learning Centres Ev 314: Ev 317 48 National Network of Science Learning Centres and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics Ev 319 49 King’s College London Ev 320 50 University of Northampton, School of Education Ev 321 51 University of Bristol, Graduate School of Education Ev 326 52 Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Ev 327 53 Russell Group Ev 329 54 Wellcome Trust Ev 332 55 Association for Science Education Ev 334 56 Professor Robin Alexander, Director of the Cambridge Primary Review Ev 339 57 Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) Ev 343 58 Dr Rita Egan Ev 346 59 Nuffield Review Ev 348 60 Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Institute of Education, University of London Ev 350 61 Children’s Workforce Development Council Ev 353

List of unprinted written evidence

The following memoranda have been reported to the House, but to save printing costs they have not been printed and copies have been placed in the House of Commons Library, where they may be inspected by Members. Other copies are in the Parliamentary Archives, and are available to the public for inspection. Requests for inspection should be addressed to The Parliamentary Archives, Houses of Parliament, London SW1A 0PW (tel. 020 7219 3074). Opening hours are from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm on Mondays to Fridays.

Michele Johnson Professor Sally Inman, Director, ITE UK Education for Sustainable Development / Global Citizenship Network Dr Alison Jackson, ESCalate ITE Service, University of Cumbria Chartered Institute of Educational Assessors Emily Scrivener Save the Children Field Studies Council (FSC) Joint Epilepsy Council (JEC) Association for Science Education Outdoor Science Working Group National Foundation for Educational Research Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme TANDBERG Dr Anne Jasman, University of Hertfordshire Professor Marilyn Leask and Dr Sarah Younie, on behalf of the IT in Teacher Education professional association and Brunel University Cliff Jones DEA The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) Dr Jo Harris, Director, on behalf of Teacher Education Unit, Loughborough University National Dance Teachers Association Campaign for State Education (CASE) South London Partnership for Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), Registered Teacher Programme (RTP) and Overseas Trained Teacher Programme (OTTP) Patrick Hall MP National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum (NALDIC) Dr Bill Allan, University College, Oxford, on behalf of the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford Professor Matthew Harrison, Royal Academy of Engineering Teacher Support Network Select Education Stonewall Kemnal Trust

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Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 1 Oral evidence

Taken before the Children, Schools and Families Committee on Monday 23 March 2009

Members present: Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman)

Mr David Chaytor Fiona Mactaggart Mr John Heppell Mr Edward Timpson Paul Holmes

Memorandum submitted by Training, Advancement and Co-operation in Teaching Young Children (TACTYC) TACTYC This submission is from the organisation called TACTYC. TACTYC’s work is in relation to young children from birth to eight-years of age. Therefore, this response focuses only on those training to teach this age group and the Inquiry’s questions which appear to be relevant to them. Wherever possible our response draws on (sometimes limited) research in the early years ﬁeld but we have also used the considerable expertise of the TACTYC Executive Committee.

Executive Summary TACTYC believes that the current system of initial teacher training does not necessarily prepare teachers well for teaching in the early years, ie birth to 7–8 years. For example, the pedagogy of play is either absent or minimal within early years teacher education courses yet we know this to be fundamental to young children’s making meaning from their education and developing positive dispositions to learning. Support given in schools to early years student teachers often amounts to being told how to deliver the curriculum rather than implement learning experiences based on children’s own knowledge and understanding and close observation of their learning capabilities and current stage of development. Teacher education needs to incorporate birth-to-3 year olds because of known improved quality when teachers are involved.

Factual Information This submission drawn on factual evidence from a range of research and published sources which are fully referenced at the end.

General Comments 1. We strongly believe that teachers should be educated not merely trained to jump through hoops. We would like to see the wording of teacher training (ITT) return to “teacher education” (ITE) to which we will refer. It is clear from much research that in-depth education is vital if all teachers are to understand the complexities inherent in their roles and to be educated to reflect on, analyse and evaluate their own practice and its eVects on learners. 2. We cannot emphasise enough how important early years teachers are in settings providing for our society’s youngest children. It is now well-known that a good start in the early years is crucial to children’s well-being and future education. As Siraj-Blatchford (2008: 11) reports “The presence of a qualified teacher … was most important for academic provision, and in particular for: literacy, maths, science and overall curricular quality”. 3. The proposals within the Interim Report of the Rose Review on the primary curriculum imply a need for teachers to be able to work responsively and to understand how to provide for and extend learning through play for over—as well as under-fives (Moyles 2005). In other words, a learner-centred pedagogy— rather than curriculum-based—is vital for younger children and remains relevant throughout schooling (Nutbrown 2006; Fisher 2007; Papatheodorou and Moyles 2008) 4. There is a huge variation within and between ITE institutions across England in how they are able to incorporate vital aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage, ie play, early learning, children’s development and working with other practitioners and parents. Subject teaching and subject knowledge requirements have substantially diminished opportunities for in-depth learning for students about these vital areas. Yet, play, as one example, is known to be an essential component of young children’s learning and the process by which they make their learning meaningful (Broadhead et al 2009, TACTYC 2008). Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 2 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

5. TACTYC also argues that teacher education should cover the birth-to-threes and working with parents. In their cross-party pamphlet, Allen and Duncan-Smith (2008) emphasise the importance of the earliest years and the need to promote social and emotional development. They stress that children should succeed educationally in their first years at school and this implies the need for the highest quality teachers and other professionals. The pamphlet also emphasises the importance of parental contribution from the start of education in line with EPPE evidence on the over-riding influence of the home learning environment (Sylva 2007). 6. We would point out to the Select Committee that the TDA does not know how many early years teachers are in training or are qualifying at any one time. This is because they calculate only generic primary numbers. We at TACTYC, as well as UCET (University Council for the Education of Teachers) have made representation about this to the TDA on several occasions over many years. With the expansion of children’s entitlement to early education, this continues to be a key omission in current data which should be redressed. 7. Greater liaison between the TDA and CWDC is needed so that there is coherence across the full and relevant qualifications for Early Years Professionals and teachers, who must have EYP status in order to work in Children’s Centres. 8. Especially in the field of early years, there’s often a lack of evidence for much of what we would want to say. There is a need for much research in the area of early years teacher education and the links with other forms of practitioner/graduate training (see BERA 2003). The issue of comparable qualifications still needs resolution.

Response to Select Committee Inquiry Statements 1. Measuring Quality 1.1 The extent to which there is an evidence base for, and a shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching (in the early years) 1.1.2 There are a few studies (and much theorising) about what makes for quality teaching in the early years. The REPEY (Siraj-Blatchford et al 2002) and the SPEEL (Study of Pedagogical EVectiveness in Early Learning: Moyles et al 2002) studies suggest a significant range of knowledge, skills and understandings need to be developed in teachers as well as appropriate professional attitudes and attributes. Yet other studies (Adams et al 2003) have found that even well qualified teachers sometimes struggle to provide appropriate and eVective teaching in the early years due to several recognised pressures, eg the pursuit of a surfeit of “outcomes” by way of the EY Profile and Ofsted inspections as well as the lack of deep understanding about the way children play and learn and develop positive dispositions to learning. In addition, some teachers working in the early years are not appropriately qualified to teach this age range and struggle to support quality learning. 1.1.3 There are a number of writings on research and theory in relation to quality practice in the early years (eg Dahlberg, Moss and Pence 2006) but few which address directly the elements of the teacher role. Studies such as those by Day (2005) and Gipps et al (2000) identify what makes a “good” teacher in general terms but do not focus directly on early years pedagogy.TACTYC stresses the need for more funded research on identifying the qualities, skills, attributes and understandings required by early years teaching students and those which can safely be left to continuing professional development.

1.2 The ways in which the quality of teaching (in the early years) can be measured 1.2.1 Notions of “measuring” good teaching should be abandoned and the qualities and characteristics of good e.y. teaching should be exempliﬁed and disseminated through case materials. Institutions should be allowed to develop their own models of assessing student progress—they should do this in conjunction with students and with training partners. In this way, communities of practice are established and the development of models of assessment become part of the awareness raising around the qualities of a good teacher for all concerned and also become an integral part of the continued professional renewal which teachers should themselves seek (Huntly 2008). In order to further develop debates about quality in teaching we also need to better inform ourselves about the relationship between teacher retention and teachers’ wider professional lives (Rinke 2008). Whilst work was undertaken on the latter aspect in this country during the 1970s/1980s, there has been a singular lack of focus on this in recent years. 1.2.2 We at TACTYC are especially concerned with issues of quality in teaching for young learners between the ages of three and seven years. There is considerable evidence to show that, for a long period now, children in reception classes are having low quality teaching and learning experiences in a wide range of local authorities (Bennett and Kell 1989; Cleave and Brown 1991; Adams et al 2004; Linklater 2006). This is linked with the lack of early years training opportunities experienced by many of those required to deliver an over-formalised curriculum to these very young learners. It is also linked with the substantial reduction in playful, active and experiential learning for children in this age range (Anning 1997; Broadhead 2004; Wood and Attﬁeld 2005). TACTYC would urgently request that the Select Committee looks especially at the training of teachers for the three-to-seven age range and bear in mind the changes likely to arise from the current Review of the Primary Curriculum as it seeks to create more open and active learning experiences across the primary age range. This is in keeping with the messages of Excellence and Enjoyment and the need for more open and learner-initiated experiences across the secondary curriculum. These approaches have Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 3

traditionally more easily taken root within the early years and subsequently extensively inﬂuenced practice later on in the school. These approaches also ease transitions for children as staV engage in ongoing, cross- phase discussions and developments. 1.2.3 The way in which quality is measured at the moment is very outcomes-driven and this reduces teaching to a tick box system which can lead to “one model” of a teacher, whereas in early years it is necessary to incorporate a range of pedagogies. The promotion of emotional intelligence and the forming of strong relationships are both very important in early years and within the teaching process and these are diYcult to measure, as they can take many diVerent forms. It takes an experienced professional to be able to judge the quality of teaching, which is not likely to be accurately assessed within a brief observation, and certainly not by simply viewing data. 1.2.4 The quality of ITE students often depends signiﬁcantly on the quality of their mentors (Moyles and Suschitzky 1998; Robins 2006), who are key in the eVectiveness of school-based ITE processes. Mentor training is vital in producing quality teachers.

2. Entry into the Teaching Profession 2.1 The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good (early years) teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT 2.1.1 Those wanting to teach young children need a real interest in and enjoyment of young children and appreciation of their influence within and beyond the school is crucial for early years work. Such teachers need an awareness of the interrelated issues of social and health influences on children’s development as well as family and community factors. They need to have a clear knowledge of the underpinning principles and the potential impact of the teaching role on very young minds. A commitment to on-going professional development and an ability to reflect on, analyse and evaluate the teacher role, are also vital. In the existing TDA Q Standards these are either absent or insuYciently emphasised. 2.1.2 Early years teachers must have a good command of spoken and written English as they are important models at a crucial time in young children’s lives. They must also be good listeners as young children need time and patience to develop their communication skills. TACTYC would stress, however, that the over-emphasis on phonics and reading in the TDA Standards is really unhelpful for student teachers who need to understand the primary role of spoken language in the development of literacy skills in young children. 2.1.3 We understand the need to support beginning teachers in the development of their professional competences as teachers and the need to “map” the field of teaching. Whilst this helps student teachers to begin to understand the extent of the complexity of teaching it does not help them to begin to form a deep understanding of “learning” nor of how teaching and learning interconnect. Measurement against standards is technical and reductionist and teachers have expressed concern at the levels of control and regulation (Hargreaves et al 2007). This suggests teaching is only about performance. The current systems also marginalise, indeed silence, the voice of the beginning teacher in determining what those standards might be (Huntly 2008).

2.2 The appropriateness of the way in which (early years) trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 2.2.1 As we have indicated above, early years student numbers are not monitored by TDA and this is a must if we are to relate training numbers to need and places.

2.3 Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good (early years) teachers 2.3.1 TACTYC feels it worthwhile asking why the Early Years Professional Status was introduced when the same outcomes could have been achieved through appropriate initial teacher education in ways which could take prior learning into account. There are now many diVerent routes for new and existing practitioners to gain a degree, although only some oVer qualified teacher status. We feel there are limitations to work-based qualifications which cannot oVer the students the breadth and depth of courses where they are able to access a range of diVerent schools and settings and gain a wider knowledge of the implications of research and theory on practice. This cannot and should not, of course, only happen at initial teacher education level: there is too much to learn and to experience. Teacher education is lifelong.

2.4 The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 2.4.1 Because of the nature of early years, it probably has less diYculty than some other areas of education in attracting applicants from diverse groups with the exception of males (see 2.4.2). There is now a broad range of diVerent routes into teaching and we believe that these are important in relation to diversity. Each route needs to be signiﬁcantly rigorous: there are no short cuts in teacher education. Many institutions are still struggling to raise diversity regarding ethnicity and the PGCE route is where many best achieve a reasonable mix. There are several projects to address diverse entry into teaching; however these are often short-term funded yet recruitment needs to have a long term perspective. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 4 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

2.4.2 There is clearly more diYculty in recruiting males in early years, partly to do with the image of the job but also to do with the lower pay and lower status still attached to the early years (Smith 2008; Drudy et al 2005). We would add, however, that although common sense and the political agenda suggests that young children need positive male role models, there is no empirical evidence, as yet, that male role models are vital to young children’s learning and development (see eg McNaughton 2000; Yelland 1998). 2.4.3 TACTYC would welcome further and more sustained eVorts to bring men and ethnic minority candidates into the early years teaching profession in a systematic and sustained way (Basit et al 2006). The eVorts made by government organisations to increase these ﬁgures are not working. This is because these eVorts are spasmodic and cursory and government is seemingly unable to accept that the reason these people do not enter teaching is related to issues within wider society rather than omissions within training institutions, who can only mirror wider society.

2.5 The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances). 2.5.1 Understanding the impact of teacher decision-making on children and young people’s learning is an intellectual act that requires a questioning and reflective disposition to be developed within the beginning teachers’ intellectual repertoire. It is developed over time and becomes fundamental to teacher decision- making as this relates to the selection of curriculum content as well as its implementation. The teacher who understands learning processes also understands the wide range of variables that aVect children’s learning dispositions, including home experiences, cultural impact, motivation, self-identity and well-being, amongst many others. Whilst teachers can be exposed to the theory of impact upon motivation for learning, its application cannot be measured through competences as the complexity of human learning theory cannot be captured in this way (Jarvis and Parker 2007). 2.5.2 There is a continuing lack of serious time and attention given to the key aspects of early years teaching which take account of the diVering rates of child development and are grounded in a responsive pedagogy (eg Blakemore and Frith 2005; Bowers and Flinders 1991; Gonzalez-Mena and Widmeyer-Eyer 2008). TACTYC feels that it is necessary for students to engage with young children at an early stage in their ITE to encourage students to value children’s positive attributes and capabilities. This is sometimes diYcult on courses and ways need to be found for students to engage with and monitor young children throughout an academic year rather than just in teaching practice situations. Some HEIs now have on-campus set-ups where children can attend educational events and experiences and this would appear to extend students opportunities to gain greater insights into children’s skills and understandings. 2.5.3 Many courses oVer a PGCE Primary 3–7 option which addresses two key stages, currently 3–5 years and and 5–7 years. Some courses incorporate a very brief introduction to birth–3, with compulsory attendance at provision which includes this age phase. It would be potentially diYcult to staV a course if it incorporated two age phases birth–3 and 3–5 as courses are often linked with Key Stage 2 provision for placements etc. 2.5.4 There is, we believe, still a serious shortage in HEIs (and in schools and settings) of highly qualified, early years trained teachers to educate, train and mentor new entrants to the profession. We need many more higher degree teachers, with a deep knowledge and understand of early childhood pedagogy and child development to staV such courses and processes. We need people with such training also to be involved with the Ofsted inspection processes which are the cause of much concern to many early years teachers because of the perceived lack of empathy with, and knowledge of, the early years from many inspectors. 2.5.5 We are concerned about the status of non-maintained/non-school settings as potential placements for student teachers, although aware that it is vital for them to have suYcient experience of these types of settings at initial teacher education level. 2.5.6 Placements for students should involve the potential for working with parents: the government requirement for teachers in Children’s Centres means that early years teachers MUST have some awareness of birth-to-three in their initial training. This is also valid preparation for work within the EYFS and Key Stage 1. It follows that working with parents should logically be part of the QTS requirements, which it currently is not. 2.5.7 Institutions interview all students and believe this to be extremely important, even though time- consuming, in assessing the applicant’s commitment to early years education and lifelong learning for themselves. 2.5.8 Play rarely has suYcient time given to it on HEI-based courses and we are also aware that, because play is sidelined in schools, experiences of playful pedagogy are not a major part of school-based ITE. As play and playful pedagogies now have such high profile in the EYFS, we believe it is vital that all courses Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 5

include a substantial element relating to learning and teaching through play (Wood 2004). This means that some subject teaching MUST also include rigorous elements in relation to play and that, in turn, means educating the educators and mentors within ITE on the beneﬁts and challenges of playful pedagogies.

3. The Delivery of ITT 3.1 The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 3.1.1 Within the early years, as we have indicated above, there are many diVerent routes into degree qualiﬁcations and qualiﬁed teacher status. TACTYC believes that every early years practitioner should be given the opportunity to work towards a degree but, at present, the courses are too diverse and some aggregation may be necessary to sustain the high quality young children and their teachers deserve.

3.2 The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 3.2.1 At present, there is too much emphasis on ITE courses on subject teaching. Subject knowledge is important but not at the expense of a deeper understanding of how children learn and the best (and most playful) strategies for teaching. The distinctive contribution of HEI used to be that teaching and learning was closely linked with theoretical perspectives so that students learned not only “how to” teach something but “why to” teach it and what to do when a certain teaching strategy failed. This element of why one is taking certain actions to enable or enhance learning allows the individual to think through a range of other strategies for ensuring children’s learning and the most appropriate means of teaching. TACTYC believes that this is currently lost in the welter of subject and inspection pressures where “outcomes” and “performance” are the key criteria. As the Primary Review (2008: 6.2) suggests: “The relation of research to policy and practice needs to be linked more systematically and enduringly to deep issues concerning learning and motivation, rather than tied to the evaluation of ephemeral initiatives”. 3.2.2 The Primary Review (2008: 6.3) reports that the demands upon HEI in both teaching and research have created a “schism between research active staV and teacher educators” which has meant that “most teachers are trained in departments with no core research”. This is exacerbated when it comes to early years educators.

3.3 Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 3.3.1 Early years teachers need experience in the voluntary and private sectors as well as school settings and also experience of working with parents and other professionals. From the time they enter early years ITE, students are likely to be in the position of managing support staV,adiYcult task given that these people are often more experienced than the students themselves. It is important that an on-going connection is made for early years students to work with/in a setting for a long period of time so that their growing competence can be established and the working relationships deepened. 3.3.2 There is a view in HEI that partnership with schools is under-funded and there has to be a reliance on school’s goodwill. With schools and teachers themselves being so busy, there needs to be some incentive given for them to take on the additional task of educating and mentoring students. TACTYC would suggest that partnership experiences should be compulsory for all students with allowances made in HEI budgets, despite there being little empirical research in the area of quality partnerships (Moyles and Stuart 2003).

3.4 The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 3.4.1 The EYFS and Every Child Matters agenda are both clear in emphasising the importance of planning for individual children’s needs. Such planning is not mentioned in the TDA’s Q standards and TACTYC believes it should be incorporated.

3.5 The role of educational research in informing (early years) ITT provision. 3.5.1 Educational research is vital in informing early years ITT provision. There is a wealth of some kinds of research, eg that to do with children’s learning, brain development, playful pedagogies, and such like (see, eg Wood 2004; Broadhead 2008; Goswami 2007) but far too little research on the education and training of early years teachers and other practitioners. 3.5.2 It is important the ITE lecturers are early years trained, experienced and knowledgeable about young children. They also need to be creative and flexible thinkers to enable students and then children be so too. Ofsted inspections can stifle this both in schools and ITE if people gravitate towards what they consider to be “safe practice”, ie merely delivering the curriculum. ITE courses are evaluated on TDA standards which can lead to a narrow range of outcomes: courses could be much more creative without so much prescription (Hobson et al 2005), and open up bigger issues about early years education and care for students. The new National Curriculum, as envisaged by the Interim Rose Review, could be positive and enable more flexibility and an emphasis on play in all ITE courses. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 6 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

4. CPD Provision 4.1 Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 4.1.1 Early years teachers, both new and experienced, need CPD that helps them to work with parents, as well as specialist courses to reﬁne their knowledge and understanding of special educational needs and all aspects of the EYFS areas of learning. They also need opportunities to learn through working with other professionals in both schools and settings. 4.1.2 In relation to a deep understanding of learning, we must expose beginning teachers to the related issues and continue to nurture the deepening of this understanding through exposure to CPD through for example, higher degree work. It is also connected to the development of research into practice which we have known for a long time has positive impact on teacher development. We commend recollection of The Schools Council initiatives in the 1960s from which many examples of good teaching practice arose from within schools and were disseminated by schools across the wider community. Such practice empowers schools and teachers to believe that they can make a diVerence on a day to day basis and not have to wait for a government department to tell them what good practice is or put materials on yet another website for de- contextualised application. 4.2.2 Whilst we welcome teachers gaining Masters degrees, we have a worry about the Masters in Teaching and Learning that is practice-based. It will be vital that mentors have Masters’ degrees themselves and have worked and studied at that level, as it needs to be comparable with other M level awards and also have suYcient rigour in linking practice with research and theory.

4.2 The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on (early years) CPD provision 4.2.1 We have insuYcient experience of this to comment. February 2009

References Adams, S, Alexander, E, Drummond, M-J, and Moyles, J (2004) Inside the Foundation Stage: recreating the reception year published ATL, Allen, G and Duncan Smith, I (2008) Early Intervention: good parents, great kids, better citizens Published by the Centre for Social Justice and the Smith Institute. Anning, A (1997) The First Years at School. Buckingham, Open University Press. Basit, T, Roberts, L, McNarmar, O, Carrington, B, Maguire, M and Woodrow, D (2006) Did they jump or were they pushed? British Educational Research Journal. 32(3): 387–410. Bennett, N and Kell, J (1989) A Good Start? Four Year Olds in School. Oxford: Blackwell. BERA (British Education Research Association) Early Years Special Interest Group (2003) Review of Early Years Research: Pedagogy, Curriculum and Adult Roles. Southwell, Notts: British Educational Research Association. Blakemore, S J and Frith, U (2005) The Learning Brain: Lessons for Education. Oxford: Wiley Blackwell. Bowers, C and Flinders, D (eds) (1991) Responsive Teaching: An Ecological approach to classroom patterns of language, culture and thought. New York: Teachers College Press. Broadhead, P (2004) Early Years Play and Learning: Developing Social Skills and Cooperation. London: Taylor and Francis. Broadhead, P, Howard, J and Wood, E (2009 in preparation) Play and learning in educational settings. London: Sage. Cleave, S and Brown, S (1991) Early to School: Four Year Olds in Infant Classes. Windsor: NFER-Nelson. Drudy, S, Martin, M, O’Flynn, J and Woods, M (2005) Men and the Classroom: Male Teachers in Today’s Primary Schools. London: Routledge. Fisher, J (2007) Starting from the Child: Teaching and Learning from 3 to 8 (2e). Maidenhead: Open University Press. Gonzalez-Mena, J and Widmeyer-Eyer, D (2008) Infants, Toddlers and Caregivers: A Curriculum of Respectful, Responsive Care and Education. New York: McGraw Hill. Goswami, U (2007) Cognitive Development: The Learning Brain. London: Psychology Press. Hargreaves, L, Cunningham, M, Hansen, A, McIntyre, D, Oliver, C and Pell, T (2007) Final Report of the Teacher Status Project. Cambridge/London: University of Cambridge/DfES.. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:53 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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Hobson, A J, Malderez, A, Tracey, L, Giannakaki, M S, Pell, R G, Kerr, K , Chambers, G N, Tomlinson, P D and Roper, T (2005) Becoming a Teacher: Student Teachers’ Experiences of Initial Teacher Training in England. University of Nottingham, University of Leeds and Ipsos MORI Social Research Institute. Research Report RR744 Huntly, H (2008) Teachers’ Work; Beginning teachers’ conception of competence. The Australian Educational Researcher, 35, 1, 125–145. Jarvis, P and Parker, S (eds) (2007) Human Learning: An holistic approach. London: Routledge. Linklater, H (2006) Listening to learn: children playing and talking about the reception year of early years education in the UK. Early Years, 26, 1, pp63–78 McNaughton, G (2000) Rethinking Gender in Early Childhood Education. London: Paul Chapman. Moyles, J (ed) (2005) The Excellence of Play (2e). Maidenhead: Open University Press/McGraw Hill. Moyles, J, Adams, S and Musgrove, A (2002) SPEEL: Study of Pedagogical EVectiveness in Early Learning. London: DfES Research Report 363. Moyles, J and Stuart, D (2003) Which school-based elements of partnership in initial teacher training in the UK support trainee teachers’ professional development? In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London. Nutbrown, K (2006) Threads of Thinking: Young Children Learning and the Role of Early Education (3e). London: Sage. Papatheodorou, T and Moyles, J (2008) Learning Together in the Early Years: Exploring Relational Pedagogy. London: Routledge. Primary Review (2008) Primary Schools: the professional environment (Primary Review Research Survey 6/ 2) by Liz Jones, Andy Pickard and Ian Stronach, Manchester Metropolitan University. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Primary Review (2008) Primary Teachers: initial teacher education, continuing professional development and school leadership development (Primary Review Research Survey 6/3) by Olwen McNamara and Rosemary Webb, Manchester University, and Mark Brundrett, Liverpool John Moores University. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Rinke, C R (2008) Understanding teacher’s careers: Linking professional life to professional path. Educational Research Review. 3, 1, pp1–13. Robins, A (ed) (2006) Mentoring in the Early Years. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Sammons, P, Sylva, K, Melhuish, E C, Siraj-Blatchford, I, Taggart, B, Elliot, K and Marsh A (2004), The EVective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE) Project: Technical Paper 11—The continuing eVects of pre-school education at age 7 years. London: DfES/Institute of Education, University of London. Siraj-Blatchford, I (2008) Research evidence on teachers’ role in the early years. Paper prepared by Siraj Blatchford for a meeting with the TDA. London 2008. Siraj-Blatchford, I, Sylva, K, Muttock, S, Gilden, R and Bell, D (2002) Researching EVective Pedagogy in the Early Years. DfES Research Report No 356, London: HMSO. Smith, J (2008) Male Primary Teachers. VDM Verlag Dr. Muller Aktiengesellschaft and Co. TACTYC (2008) Play and Learning in Early Education: New Evidence. Presentation made at the House of Commons, London. 12 November. Whitebread, D (ed) (2001) Teaching and Learning in the Early Years (2e). London: Routledge. Wood, E (2004) Developing a Pedagogy of Play. In A. Anning, J. Cullen, J. and M. Fleer. Early Childhood Education. London: Sage. Wood, E and Attﬁeld, J (2005) Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum. London: Paul Chapman Publishing Ltd. Yelland, N (ed) (1998) Gender in Early Childhood. London/New York: Routledge.

Memorandum submitted by the University of Exeter, School of Education Measuring Quality 1.1 There is a shared sense in the research literature of the range of possible practices that can contribute to high quality teaching. (eg Schroeder C et al 2007 A Meta-Analysis of National Research: EVects of Teaching Strategies on Student Achievement in Science in the United States Journal of Research In Science Teaching Vol 44, No 10, pp 1436–1460). 1.2 There can be no simple speciﬁcation of what will be good quality teaching in any one particular school or context. Measuring quality should take account of the views of the people involved in teaching and learning in a particular context, and should not simply focus on pre-determined criteria for success. These Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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views should be understood in relation to the achievement of national standards—but achievement of these standards should not be the sole measure of success. What is evident from our experience of working with trainees is that “quality” is a complex notion which is not simply an internal characteristic of an individual teacher: a trainee who is outstanding in one context may be less so in another. This is consistent with Wragg’s research on Teacher Competence (Chamberlin R, Haynes G, & Wragg E. (1999) Failing Teachers? London: Taylor & Francis) where he found that teacher competence is an artefact of the interplay between the school and the individual.

Entry into the Teaching Profession 2.1 Entry Characteristics 2.1.1 The current entry requirements place a high emphasis on academic subject knowledge. The School of Education acknowledges the importance of teachers who possess strong subject knowledge which allows them to mediate the learning in the classroom and to respond flexibly to learners’ needs. However, it is important to recognise that a 2.1 degree in a recognisably-named subject is not always a good indicator of subject knowledge. Our own experience with trainees indicates that many with “non-standard subject” degrees become outstanding subject teachers: the critical factor is not fixed past academic achievement, but a genuine desire to continue learning and a professional awareness of the need to update subject knowledge continually. Intellectual calibre is an important characteristic and whilst there is no exact correlation between degree class and teaching ability, we are aware that those with lower degree classifications do sometimes find the intellectual demands of teaching a significant challenge. (It is also true that some with First class degrees find it hard to bridge the gap between their own academic ease with a subject and students’ diYculties with it). 2.1.2 The current entry requirements do not address the personal attributes which characterise a good teacher—our experience with both outstanding and failing trainees indicates that academic attainment is a necessary but not suYcient entry requirement. The ability to establish good interpersonal relationships with colleagues and students; to adopt a critical stance towards one’s own teaching and that of others; emotional resilience; strong personal organisation in terms of time management and workload; and a creative willingness to be flexible and take risks are important characteristics of the best trainees.

2.2 ITE provision and the preparation of new teachers The preparation of new teachers is complex, involving engagement with the student’s personal characteristics and identity,the national and school context, the professional expertise of practicing teachers and educational theory and research. Preliminary evidence that is emerging from a research project in the School of Education, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, suggests that students leave their ITE courses feeling well prepared and with a vision for their future teaching that reﬂects educational principles.

2.3 Special Educational Needs 2.3.1 The extent to which ITT adequately prepares teachers for teaching the range of children with additional needs including those with special educational needs/disabilities has been a concern since the 1978 Warnock report. The significance of the matter has been renewed by the 2006 House of Commons Report on SEN. We draw the Committee’s attention to the research and development project undertaken at the School of Education, University of Exeter for the TDA. This TDA funded project focused on the coverage of SEN/disabilities in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England. There were two phases to this project: Phase 1: National Survey of ITT Providers to identify current and best practice. Phase 2: Monitoring and Evaluation of the University of Exeter’s Personalised SEN Task by a number of HEI providers nationally (a school based teaching activity for all PGCE trainees to work with a child/young people with identified special educational needs). 2.3.2 The first phase of the project indicated just how variable PGCE programmes were in terms of their SEN coverage and content so that trainees emerge for their ITT training with considerable variations in the amount they know and understand about SEN issues from their taught programmes. The second phase trial was very successful in that providers, trainees and schools were overall positive about the Task and its impact, with most of the providers involved planning to include the Task as an integral part of their PGCE programmes in the future. The trial identified many issues, even where the Task had been a requirement for some years. The main issues that arose with all the participants in the project, trainees and school and university staV, were based around several factors: — Preparation for SEN and the Task at university. — Communication about the Task on all levels: between university and the school; within the school between the trainee and school staV and between school staV. — The timing of the Task: ie number of hours for the Task and in which placement to have it. — Design of the Task: ie concentrating on one individual pupil with SEN or more pupils with SEN. — Support for the trainee on the Task from the University and from school staV. — Materials and resources made available to trainees including the Exeter website. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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— Reporting on the Task, feedback and assessment. — Training for school and university staV about the Task and the cost implications such as supply cover for schools. It is also hoped that all the feedback from this trial will lead to improvements in the support provided by universities and schools for trainees on the Task, if appropriate training and other resources are put in place for this purpose by essential funding. 2.3.3 At the same time as this project Ofsted have reported in terms of SEN preparation in ITE: (Ofsted, 2008). Ofsted’s recommendations are relevant to the current review and we support them fully.

2.4 Equal Opportunities and Diversity 2.4.1 Recent changes to legislation and advice given to schools in the area of equalities may not be suYciently well-recognised in current ITT provision, especially concerning sexualities. This impacts on the conﬁdence of young teachers in particular about their own orientation and in their care and pastoral concern for those they are teaching. Evidence from the No Outsiders project (funded by the ESRC and in which the School of Education is a partner) shows the diYculties which arise in extending equalities in primary schools, and from other work with PGCE secondary trainees here, similar issues within secondary education. 2.4.2 Our work with BME trainees and our investigations of their experiences in school signals the importance of individual teachers being proactively inclusive, and the importance of partner schools being both strategically and practically inclusive, if we wish to create schools which represent more adequately the diversity of the communities they represent.

The Delivery of ITT 3.0 The current ITE system is risk-averse and tends towards a compliance-model, heavily shaped by the demands of the Standards for QTS, the requirements for partnership, and the regulatory hand of Ofsted. It can lead to a very technicist approach to teacher education which prepares trainees for the immediate demands of English classrooms under current policy frameworks, but leaves them ill-equipped to cope when policy changes. The response of many secondary English teachers to the scrapping of the KS3 tests is testament to this: teachers, whilst deploring the tests, have been trained to teach them and in their absence have been unsure what to do in their place. Our own courses at Exeter have been very explicitly designed around a model of teacher education which prepares trainees to be thinking, reflective and innovative teachers for the 21st century, able to adapt to changing policy contexts and, if appropriate, able to challenge the thinking underpinning current frameworks. This is critical if we hope to be educating the school leaders of the future in our current cohorts. 3.1 The role of HEIs in teacher education is critical. Exeter has a well developed partnership with schools which is based on an explicit model of student teacher learning (http://education.exeter.ac.uk/ pages.php?id%342) and associated systems and tools that support its implementation (http:// education.exeter.ac.uk/pages.php?id%341) This model makes explicit things that universities are best placed to do and things that schools are best placed to do. It also indicates that it is not realistic to expect comfortable agreement amongst schools in diVerent circumstances, or between a school and the university. It emphasises that such disagreement can be the catalyst for growth in understanding and practice. One role of HEIs is in the development of such models to promote teacher learning; another is to do what they are best placed to do within such models. This would include to support student teacher learning about educational theory and research, to support their development as practitioners who can take an (action) research stance to the development of their practice, and to ensure that students encounter ideas about the range of possible practice. It is important to note that for teacher educators in an HEI, the preparation of teachers is their primary teaching focus, whereas for schools, their primary focus is pupil achievement. 3.2 The partnership with schools in ITE has been one of the strengths of policy changes to ITE over recent years and at its best allows for creative synergies between classroom practitioners and professional teacher educators which have enriched the process of learning to teach, and established more eVective ways of learning. Our partner schools also report repeatedly that being involved in educating the new generation of teachers is excellent professional development for them as teachers and ensures that their own teaching continues to develop. There are ways now in which partnership could be strengthened to enhance the quality of teacher education: Ofsted inspection should include an evaluation of the quality and commitment of a school’s contribution to ITE; and the role played by tutors and mentors in schools should be more explicitly recognized within the teaching career path. 3.3 The Leverhulme project (conducted in the School of Education) suggests that, during their ITE, student teachers seemed to filter what they learnt about their actual practice, to match current practice in school. Ideas that did not match seemed to be put aside, and “fitting in” to the school was seen as an important goal. This was true of NQTs’ thinking about induction too. There is therefore a question about whether student teachers’ positive and ambitious visions for their future teaching, expressed at the end of their ITE programme, will be realised in their practice. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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3.4 The same project suggests that induction mentors also see “fitting in to the school” as the goal of induction. They provide support to enable the NQT to fit in. Although this is perhaps a necessary step in an induction process, once it has been achieved, we would argue that induction should move on to the further development of NQTs’ expertise in supporting learning. 3.5 The University’s involvement in CPD (see below) suggests that experienced teachers value the input that it can provide in terms of theoretical insight and induction into the methodologies of research that can improve practice. 3.6 Our conclusion is that the provision of ITE will be supported, not just by changes to the best examples of ITE partnerships with schools, but by extension of those partnerships to induction and CPD so that the schools that student teachers “fit in to” are schools that are committed to teacher learning at all career stages. This conclusion would seem to be consistent with MTL plans.

3.7 The role of educational research As indicated above, educational research (its outcomes and its processes) is one key element of the role that HEIs have in the ITE/induction/CPD process. However, also as indicated above, this will not simply be a matter of ﬁltering research outputs for generalisable rules about what works. It will be about helping teachers to understand how educational research informs their discussions and investigations of what is appropriate and what is not in their particular context. We believe it is important that the next generation of teachers are taught by colleagues who are actively engaged in research and who contribute, through their research, to policy formation at a national level, and to international research on teaching and learning. We are concerned that curriculum research into teaching and learning at subject level is in decline nationally and that substantial research investment should address this issue. This was noted in the recent Research Assessment Exercise report for Education: “Other ﬁelds continued to be underrepresented in relation to their key importance to national education systems eg .. classroom learning and eVective teaching in subject disciplines”

CPD Provision 4.1 We believe firmly in the importance and value of CPD and are conscious that many of the world’s most successful education systems have a more systematic and coherent model of CPD for teachers. In Singapore, for example, teachers are entitled to 100 hours CPD each year. An ITE programme should not be the completion of professional development but the beginning of a career-long commitment to reflection and professional development. 4.2 Exeter provides a part time masters programme under a TDA PPD contract and an EdD programme which attracts senior staV, including headteachers and deputies from our partner schools. We have developed a coherent route for PGCE trainees to progress to Masters in their NQT year, drawing on a module designed to foster a close analysis and reflection upon teaching and learning in their own classrooms and contexts, supported by academic reading of relevant research. This has recruited exceptionally well and provides the basis for continued professional development beyond PGCE. 4.3 At masters level, we work in partnership with a school-based provider (The Learning Institute—LI), with individual students and with schools. We have evidence, through normal course evaluation processes and through a recent questionnaire to students, that the provision is widely regarded as eVective in enhancing practice in school. The partnership with LI is an innovative part of our practice and is therefore described in more detail below. 4.4 LI provides a 60 credit masters level PGCert programme which is designed to articulate with the part- time MEd in the SELL. With its “close to practice” focus, it draws teachers into masters level study who might not feel ready to embark on a full masters programme. Teachers who successfully complete the PGCert are able to engage in further study through the SELL MEd and so have a clear progression route to a masters degree. Assessment practice follows that used throughout the MEd. The PGCert has its own external examiner and results are considered at the full MEd Examination Board to encourage equivalence of standard across the SELL and Learning Institute provision. The small tutorial team (teachers, whose appointment to LI is scrutinised by the University) is able to maintain high levels coherence across the programme and the up-to-date professional experience of the team members enables them to deal eVectively with the “close to practice” issues that are the focus of LI provision. 4.5 A TDA independent evaluator’s report suggests that this partnership makes a significant impact on schools. The evaluator has written that “the vast majority [of teachers] gave accounts of beneficial changes in their classrooms”. A teacher commented that this PPD had “rekindled the fire in my belly”; in one school, “the consequence of the PPD had been the formation of powerful learning community that had also influenced non-participants”; in another school there “was a strong multiplier eVect that derived from a group of interrelated enquiry projects undertaken by diVerent teachers”. The evaluator also noted that pupils of teachers involved in the PPD spoke positively of impacts on their learning. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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4.6 The School of Education—and the University (through its Collaborative Provision Committee)— invests signiﬁcantly in the quality assurance of this partnership. This is a two way relationship. LI is required to meet all the standards expected of internal provision and is supported in doing so (eg through working sessions between University staV and LI tutors to explore the theoretical frameworks relevant to modules). The University is challenged to review its regulations to accommodate aspects of good practice and new initiatives from LI. 4.7 With this commitment from both parties, we argue that the partnership has great potential to contribute to schools as communities of professional as well as pupil learning.

4.8 Tracking impact The measurement of impact on teachers—and especially on pupils—is contentious. Cultural theories of learning (Biesta & James, 2007 Improving Learning Cultures in Further Education, London: Taylor & Francis) make clear that there can be no simple cause and eVect relationships. Impact of any initiative (including CPD) may be delayed until other aspects of the culture of a school align to make it visible; impact may be significant on some pupils but small in others; impact may be made immediately but only become visible much later in pupils’ careers. We have demonstrated above that, through extensive qualitative enquiry, independent evaluation can map positive impact on perceptions of teachers and pupils and on the culture of schools. This is as much as we should demand of CPD provision. The consequent influence on pupil achievement will inevitably be confounded by all the other influences on schools and pupils. This is not a reason to reduce the positive contributions that CPD will be making to this complex mix of influences. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) 1. Summary 1.1. This evidence sets out higher education’s contribution—in terms of volume and quality—to the initial training and ongoing professional development of teachers.

1.2. Key facts: — Some 77% of the 30,000! new ITT students1 recruited each year are in mainstream programmes run jointly by HEIs and schools. Most of the rest are linked to HEIs through school-centred (SCITT) or employment-based (EBITT) provision that is managed, validated or otherwise supported by HEIs. — In 2008, 85% of primary and 86% of secondary NQTs rated the overall quality of the initial training they received as being “good” or “very good”;2, 3 — Mainstream provision run by HEI-school partnerships are, on the basis of Ofsted evidence, of higher quality than SCITT or employment-based routes.4, 5 — 94% of all secondary and 97% of primary trainees attend institutions in the highest quality categories.6 — The undergraduate route remains popular with both schools and NQTs and allows more time to be spent on areas such as SEN, inclusion etc (“…primary UG programmes were rated signiﬁcantly higher than primary PG, most notably in the following areas….,preparedness to work with learners with special educational needs,…”).7 — HMCI has reported that “primary and secondary teacher training programmes continue to be well led and managed, and resources are targeted appropriately”; and “Training programmes are constantly updated by providers to take account of government initiatives: for example: the Rose review on the teaching of early reading and 14–19 curriculum developments”.8 — An increasing proportion of entrants to postgraduate programmes have degrees at 2:1 or above.9

1 The Good Teacher Training Guide 2008, Alan Smithers & Pamela Robinson. 2 Includes students on HEI, school and employment based routes. 3 From a TDA survey responded to by 14,000 (44%) of NQTs. 4 The Good Teacher Training Guide 2008, Alan Smithers & Pamela Robinson. Also, according to TDA ﬁgures, 92% of secondary HEI providers are in quality categories A and B compared to 64% of SCITTs. 5 Although quality categories do not yet exist for EBIT provision, Ofsted did express concern about quality in its report: “An employment-based route into teaching” (January 2005) 6 TDA data. 7 TDA 2008 NQT survey, p 22. 8 2007–08 annual report (similar conclusions were reached in earlier reports). 9 From 49% to 58% in primary since 1996–97 and 46–54% in secondary (although this might reﬂect general increases). Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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— Postgraduate professional development for teachers provided by consortia of HEIs, schools and others has been shown to have a demonstrable and transformational impact on classroom performance.10

2. Measuring Quality 2.1. The current evidence base for what constitutes good quality teaching is determined by the professional standards against which teachers are assessed for entry to and progression within the profession. The extent to which the ITT standards are met for the award of QTS is subject to rigorous internal and external moderation procedures involving staV from HEIs and partnership schools. HEI procedures are also subject to annual scrutiny through university procedures and through the submission of Self Evaluation Documents to the TDA and Ofsted. The latter help inform the timing and nature of the inspection of the quality of training by Ofsted. The quality of teaching is assessed through observation, scrutiny of documentation, discussion with trainees and staV and analysis of written assignments.

3. Entry into the teaching profession (a) Quality of entrants and preparedness to teach 3.1. The kind of teachers the nation requires will in part determine the characteristics sought. There has however been no national debate about the type of teachers we need.11 The ITT requirements set by the Secretary of State are generic, context-free and assume a shared understanding about the qualities, attitudes and values expected of teachers. There are only indirect references to the important characteristics needed to prepare pupils for the society and economy of the future (eg intellectual curiosity; empathy; commitment to social justice; cosmopolitan outlook; and the capacity for self-management and resilience). 3.2. The Secretary of State does require that entrants: — To PGCE and other graduate programmes have a first degree or equivalent qualification and have achieved GCSE standard in English and mathematics and (for primary) science. — Have the necessary intellectual and academic capabilities; communication skills; personal qualities and attributes; values; and level of medical fitness. — Are subject to face-to-face interview, CRB checks and GTCE registration. 3.3. Subject to the above, it is a matter for ITT providers to decide whom to accept. For primary provision, where the number of applications regularly exceeds the number of places, providers have significant choice. Academic qualifications are one factor used in selection. Account is also taken of personal attributes and commitment. Some providers will also seek to reflect the nature of the communities they serve12 and contribute to the development of a more diverse teaching profession, despite the fact that this approach can negatively impact on some “league-table” rankings. Recruitment to some secondary subjects is more diYcult and providers, while ensuring the above requirements are met, might sometimes take risks in order to meet recruitment targets. 3.4. All student teachers must demonstrate that they meet the Secretary of State’s QTS standards. These enshrine the basic professional knowledge, skills and understanding teachers are judged to need. It should, however, be recognised that further professional development is needed to progress beyond basic levels of competence. The development of a suite of standards covering diVerent stages of a teacher’s classroom career, each of which refers to the importance of professional development, is to be welcomed. In answer to the question about special educational needs and challenging schools, we believe that ITT programmes do equip teachers to begin to teach in these and other diYcult areas, but that targeted and specialised training is required during and after the induction year (possibly as part of Master’s level programmes) to secure additional expertise. This is particularly true for those qualifying via the postgraduate route, as Ofsted found in its 2008 report on how well new teachers are prepared to teach pupils with learning diYculties and/or disabilities. That report indicated that PGCE providers “struggle most to ensure good quality provision within the time available”.13

(b) Trainee numbers, national planning and diversity of entrants 3.5. The number of places allocated to primary programmes and programmes in each secondary subject are set by DCSF using its Teacher Supply Model. Places are then shared amongst ITT providers by TDA on the basis of quality as measured by Ofsted,14 although marginal account is sometimes taken of other factors. The Supply Model has been found wanting. For example, the TDA recently had to allocate

10 2008 TDA commissioned evaluation of the impact of postgraduate professional development. Similar conclusions were reached in the 2007 impact report and in earlier reports into award bearing CPD by Ofsted (2005) and a report by Soulsby & Swain commissioned by TTA (2003). 11 Although reference has been made in the context of Robin Alexander’s Primary Review. 12 For example, the PGCE with English as an Additional Language developed in partnership between Newman University College and local schools, and programmes run by institutions such as the University of East London and London Metropolitan University. 13 Ofsted 2008 report: How well new teachers are prepared to teach pupils with learning diYculties and/or disabilities 14 As required by the 1994 Education Act. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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1,770 additional15 primary places to correct for errors in the model, and in previous years the model has made signiﬁcant changes to its predictions of need (eg when year two of a three-year cycle has become year- one). Constantly changing targets cause instability in the sector and can put high-quality (and irreplaceable) provision at risk. While the introduction of 3-year allocations has helped stabilise provision, more consideration should be given to long-term supply needs and the maintenance of a sound and high-quality teacher education base. 3.6. The TDA’s obligation to make allocations on the basis of quality has improved standards to the extent that some 90% of trainees are in high quality provision. However, such has been the success of the sector that there is now limited scope to distinguish between providers on the basis of quality.The time might therefore have come to take more account of other factors, such as regionality, diversity,16 CPD provision and research expertise to inform allocation decisions.

(c) Routes into teaching 3.7. The main routes are: — PGCE through traditional HEI-school partnerships at graduate or Master’s level (especially for entry to secondary schools). — One-year programmes (mostly PGCEs) oVered by SCITT consortia (often in partnership with HEIs). — 3–4 year undergraduate programmes oVered by traditional HEI-school partnerships (especially for entry into primary schools). — Employment-based routes/graduate training programmes under which trainees are employed and trained “on-the job” (often with HEI input). 3.8. There are, in addition, programmes such as “Teach First” and “Overseas Trained Teachers” that are sometimes delivered solely or jointly by HEIs. While these represent valuable routes, their current and potential scale should be kept in perspective. 3.9. All newly qualified teachers must demonstrate that they meet the Secretary of State’s QTS standards, and all ITT programmes must adhere to the Secretary of State’s requirements. These stipulate that students on postgraduate and undergraduate programmes must spend a minimum of 18–24 and 24–32 weeks respectively in schools or comparable settings. Schools must also be involved in the design, planning and delivery of programmes. 3.10. Each route makes a valuable contribution to ensuring a good supply of high-quality and committed teachers. The current generation of new teachers has been described by Ofsted and others as the “best ever”.17 The contribution of the HE sector to this success is clear. In terms of scale, it produces some 77% of new entrants, a figure that could not be reached solely through school or employment-based routes (even if headteachers and other school staV were willing to take lead responsibility for teacher training and supply). 3.11. On quality, Ofsted reports suggest that traditional HE-school partnership programmes are on average of better quality than either SCITT or EBITT provision, although we acknowledge that SCITTs, with HEI support, have improved and some are now as good as the best HEIs. Comparable data for EBITT provision is not available as that is only now becoming subject to the same quality and allocations regime. It should however be noted that a January 2005 Ofsted report concluded, inter alia, that around 50% of EBITT provision failed to comply with basic requirements and that training was poor for some 20% of trainees. In a subsequent 2007 report, Ofsted found that EBITT provision, while strong in regards classroom management and pupil behaviour, had weaknesses compared to mainstream provision in terms of “..the application of subject knowledge to teaching, assessment and evaluation”.18 More recently, SCITT and EBITT provision has been identified as requiring further improvement in respect of the teaching of early reading.19

4. Delivery of ITT (a) Innovative and diverse approaches 4.1. The content and delivery of ITT is largely determined by the Secretary of State’s course requirements and QTS standards and the Ofsted inspection process. These have, in the past, dissuaded providers from adopting innovative approaches for fear of falling foul of central regulation and jeopardising funding. However, following the demonstrable improvement in quality (and some improvement and re-focusing was required), there has been some lessening of central requirements. This has allowed scope for innovation

15 590 for 2009 and 1,180 for 2010 16 Progress has been made in regards the recruitment of ethnic minority trainees in recent years, with recruitment up from 5% and 7% respectively in primary and secondary in 1998 to 8% and 14% now. More could still be done on this and in the recruitment of male teachers (currently 13% in primary and 37% in secondary) and in the recruitment of students with disabilities (although around 8% of student teachers record a disability, reliable trend data is diYcult to come by). 17 TDA strategic plan 2008. 18 Ofsted summary, 19 January 2007 (NR-2007–02) 19 Letter from Sir Jim Rose to Ed Balls, 24 November 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 14 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

(although the impact of the new Ofsted inspection framework and a more draconian approach to minor and technical examples of non-compliance by TDA remains to be seen). Increased ﬂexibility has also enabled the sector to respond to broader government priorities in relation to, for example, the teaching of early reading, where both HMCI’s annual report and a special Ofsted survey of selected HEIs conducted in 2008 were complimentary about what the sector had achieved (“Overall, those providers surveyed had responded well to the Rose review, and they were preparing trainees well to teach early reading”).20

(b) Contribution of higher-education 4.2. The contribution that the HE sector makes to the volume and quality of new teachers, and the support it provides to other forms of ITT delivery have, we trust, already been demonstrated. To add to that: — The introduction of Master’s level PGCEs provides students with the opportunity to achieve (on average) 60 Master’s credits and to undertake focused research; develop research skills; and provide a base for further professional development in the context of, for example, the Government’s aspiration for a teaching profession qualiﬁed to Master’s level, comparable to that of other high-performing nations. — Higher education allows space for student teachers to share and reﬂect critically on collective experiences while away from the classroom and to develop professional skills and knowledge applicable to a variety of school settings. — The scope that the scale of HE provision allows to innovate and respond to government priorities (HEIs have, collectively and individually, helped to develop and implement policies relating to, for example, the Williams review of mathematics, MTL, Leading Literacy Schools,21 ECM, Teach 1st, 14–19 etc).22 — Opportunities for student teachers to work in an environment of educational research and enquiry and have access to library, ICT support and CPD opportunities up to doctorate level. — Opportunities for student teachers to engage with, in the context of Every Child Matters, trainees and expert practitioners from related professions such as social work, health etc.

(c) Partnerships 4.3. The development of formal partnerships between schools and HEIs in the delivery of ITT has been one of the most significant developments in teacher education over the last 20 years and is, in some respects, a forerunner of more recent moves to develop closer relationships between schools and universities in the context of raising aspirations and achievement. The principle of schools working in partnership with HEIs in the design, delivery and evaluation of training is one that the HE sector and UCET will continue to champion and support. There are, nonetheless, diYculties. Firstly,HEIs often find it hard to identify suitable placements and do, on occasion, have to involve schools less than ideally placed to provide high-quality training experiences. Secondly, the level of support given to students in school is often outside the HEI’s control, despite the fact that HEIs are ultimately held accountable for all aspects of training. Consideration should, we think, be given to making it a requirement that schools should, if they are to receive the top Ofsted ratings, engage with HEIs on the training and development of teachers. The solution should not be, as some have suggested, to locate training solely in schools. Not only would that destroy existing high-quality provision, but it is also extremely unlikely that school staV (who are often reluctant to engage in existing forms of ITT) would relish having lead responsibility for training some 30,000 new teachers each year. 4.4. The HEI-school partnership also benefits schools. For example, Ofsted’s 2006 report The Logical Chain about CPD in eVective schools stated: “Almost all surveyed schools were involved in a partnership with a provider of initial teacher training. This had significant benefits for staV development. Teachers learned useful mentoring skills and improved their teaching by reflecting on their practice with trainees. Some HEIs oVered credits on award-bearing courses for teachers who were involved in initial teacher training. One university worked very successfully with two of the survey schools to raise standards in literacy through its Master’s degree course.”23

(d) Role of education research 4.5. Teacher education should be informed by education research. Funding should also be provided to allow both trainee and serving teachers to enliven their teaching by accessing research ﬁndings and engaging in school-focused research. This can be done through existing funding mechanisms and by developing (for those not receiving RAE support) new capacity for practice based research and by facilitating the recruitment of a new generation of researchers with experience of working in, and with, schools.

20 July 2008, page 4. 21 100% of HEI ITT providers are participating in the Leading Literacy School project. 22 Links between entry to teaching in the schools and FE sectors need to be investigated by DIUS and DCSF in the context if 14–19 policies. 23 Page 15. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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4.6. Education research also makes a valuable contribution to national debate and policy setting. HEI research has, for example, contributed to policy development in regards gender and attainment, the inclusion of reluctant learners and leadership in relation to low achievement. 4.7. These contributions by HEIs have, in recent years, received invaluable support from the £30 million Teacher & Learning Research Programme (TLRP).24 The TLRP programme is, however, scheduled to end in 2009 and we strongly recommend that consideration be given to either its continuation or a re-investment of its funds in education research and capacity building.

5. CPD Provision 5.1. CPD can have a hugely positive impact on the performance and retention of teachers. It must however, as Ofsted pointed out in the The Logical Chain, be targeted to the needs of individual teachers, be properly planned and have clearly identified outcomes. 5.2. EVective CPD takes many forms, and The Logical Chain makes the point that a range of opportunities need to be available. EVective provision is oVered by a number of organisations, including HEIs, subject associations, local authorities, the GTCE, NCSL and others. The HE sector often works in partnership with such bodies through the recognition of work submitted to GTCE, subject associations, local authorities, NCSL and others for Master’s level credit. 5.3. This evidence focuses on Master’s level CPD, although we acknowledge the quality of much non- accredited provision. UCET has given strong “in-principle” support to the development of the MTL and seeks to help make it a success. The benefit of relevant and targeted Master’s level study is well documented. For example, a 2008 TDA-commissioned report on the impact of its postgraduate professional development (PPD) programme found that: “The majority of respondents referred to significant improvements in the quality of the learning environment for pupils. These included: more eVective behaviour management creating better conditions for learning, more exciting and stimulating teaching, use of a wider range of interventions, better responses to pupils’ needs, more eVective use of personalised learning strategies….” (p7.) 5.4. Earlier reports reached similar conclusions: — A December 2006 TDA evaluation report25 on PPD referred to the positive impact it had on the retention of teachers and on their commitment, self-confidence and innovation. It also pointed to a positive impact on pupils’ learning and on the practice of other teachers in the schools concerned. — A 2004 Ofsted report26 found that Master’s programmes helped teachers achieve significant improvements for their school (eg in relation to the standards of pupils’ work and the quality of teaching, pupil assessment and target setting, curriculum planning, implementation of the national strategies and self-evaluation); increased teachers’ subject knowledge; improved their organisational, interpersonal and analytical skills; provided a greater understanding of current initiatives; and enhanced their leadership and management capabilities. 5.5. These and other reports27 demonstrate, amongst other things, that relevant study at Master’s level: — Has a transformational impact on teachers, their colleagues and their schools. — Raises the status and professionalism of teachers. — Encourages teachers to follow a critical, reflective, inspirational and innovative approach and to take risks in the context of their schools. — Provides teachers with skills to evaluate the impact on classroom performance of diVerent teaching strategies and models of professional learning. — Develops problem-solving and research skills. — Fosters a sustained engagement with continuing professional development. — Helps teachers identify the connections between public education policy, research findings and classroom delivery. — Helps develop a professional community that shares, discusses and adapts new ideas and approaches. — Helps teachers support pupils in diVerent contexts and in partnership with a range of diVerent professional groups. January 2009

24 Funded by HEFCE; DCSF; the Scottish Executive, the National assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Executive. 25 TDA PPD Impact Report, Peter Seaborne. 26 The impact of award bearing in-service training for teachers on school improvement, Ofsted 2004 (HMI 1765). 27 Eg Soulsby & Swain, TTA 2003. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 16 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Witnesses: Professor Pat Broadhead, Chair, Training, Advancement and Co-operation in Teaching Young Children (TACTYC), Di Chilvers, Early Years Regional Adviser, National Strategies, Professor Elizabeth Wood, School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter and Sally Yates, Vice-Chair, Universities Council for the Education of Teachers, gave evidence.

Q1 Chairman: May I welcome Professor Pat elements might become part of a Masters in Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood Teaching and Learning, as CPD work progresses. and Sally Yates to our proceedings. We value your There are special issues around teaching quality for time and your expertise. We shall go straight into a reception age children, the transition from the early proper session. You know what we are about. As a years foundation stage to Key Stage 1. Formality Committee, we have been looking at what we regard and teacher-directed learning have prevailed there as the three great reforms of the past 20 years. As you for a range of reasons, and we need some strong, probably know, we have done a major inquiry into cultural shifts in our reception teachers and support testing and assessment. We are about to publish for our reception teachers in their work. That would another inquiry report on the National Curriculum, tie nicely into the elements of the Rose review of and we have already embarked on a inquiry into primary education and some of the ideas that are accountability, Ofsted and all that, but we have coming out of there. It would make that transitional never, certainly since I have been Chair of the experience for children a much firmer, stronger Committee, looked at the training of teachers. So, in experience for them. In my view, early years parallel, I thought that we might interest ourselves in practitioners need to be extended professionals in the two spheres: the training of teachers and the order to interconnect the curriculum with young training of social workers. We are doing a lot of children’s interests and with their prior learning. training at the moment, and we need you to help us, That is a very challenging business. Again, so I shall riV through and start with Pat. Do any of understanding that has implications for a master’s you want to make a statement to get us going, or do qualification, for ongoing CPD work that you want to go straight into questions? It is your experienced teachers might gain over time and for option. further professional development. Given the Professor Broadhead: I prepared a few thoughts, so expansion of early years provision through the I am happy to make a brief statement if that is increase in children’s centres, in my view, it is more acceptable. crucial than ever that the Training and Development Chairman: That is even better. We shall have a few Agency for Schools monitors the number of early thoughts to get us started, and I shall riV across to years teachers qualifying and going out into the anyone who wants to share those few thoughts. work force. At the moment, we do not even have that Professor Broadhead: I will read them out. Given the number as a sub-set of primary numbers. All that we nature and focus of the Select Committee, it will not know is the number of primary teachers who are be a surprise that I want to take an opportunity to being trained and going out into the work force. At emphasise the importance of having well-trained this point in time, there also needs to be some urgent and qualified early years teachers working in the debate and guidance for individuals and schools and early years sector. It is absolutely paramount to train settings around the relationship between the teacher to work, in my view, most substantially across the and the early years professional as individuals three-to-seven or even eight years age range, working together in settings and the implications for although I am not omitting birth to three years old. those roles and responsibilities across the settings We know that the mother’s educational achievement overall. is a key indicator of a child’s achievement, so surely Chairman: Thank you Pat. Di? that would be applicable to the qualification level of Di Chilvers: I think that you are aware of the those who are caring for and educating young position that I am in. I taught at SheYeld Hallam children during their early years. In keeping with the University for eight years on graduate and new emphasis being given to the early years postgraduate courses, and I now work for the foundation stage, I would also like to see a lot more National Strategies. One of the feelings that I had playful learning and playful pedagogies becoming about giving evidence today was that, although I substantive elements within courses. In our initial might not be able to give you the most up-to-date, teacher education courses, both undergraduate to at-the-moment issues in universities, what I can do is some extent and our PGCE courses to a large extent, give a broader perspective of what I see as the issues the play-for-learning and the play-for-pedagogies for the work force now working out there with local elements have diminished over the years because of authorities and the National Strategies. I hope that external pressures, so it would be good to see them my evidence will be helpful to you, but I am coming emphasised and valued, and to be returned. For me, from a broader picture, not just from the university birth to three and working with parents, and picture. I hope that that is helpful. There are some supporting them, should be addressed—must be main issues that, for me, are terrifically important in addressed—in the initial course of training. I should terms of the work force out there. One is that we have also like to see those dimensions become part of a had such a massive change in the landscape of early continuing professional development element for years policy and practice over the past few years. We qualified teachers, because it is only as teachers now have a clear remit with the nought-to-five become more experienced and mature in the setting agenda and the early years foundation stage, which that they begin truly to understand the complicated is a real opportunity to shape undergraduate and business of working with very young children and of postgraduate training using the principles and supporting parents in those areas. Perhaps those practice of the early years foundation stage to Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates underpin everything. We have a clear remit for that Professor Wood: I agree with everything that has particular phase of nought to fiveness now, which I been said by Pat and Di, and I do not want to repeat think is important, not the division between nought it, so I would like to take a slightly diVerent to threes and threes to fives. There is a drive to bring perspective. I have worked at Exeter since 1991. We care and education together, which in the past has are a grade A provider. I have the privilege of always been a little bit of a sticky issue, but the working with students who come to us with first and nature of bringing those two distinct but very upper second class degrees, sometimes masters and necessary aspects together in training is really occasionally doctorates as well. So in the past 18 important, as well as the clear message that we need years, I have worked with some really outstanding people who work with young children to have a good young and mature students. Over the past 18 years, understanding of child development, how children I have seen many of those students track out into a learn and how to observe and record that and make wide range of roles, including HMI, local authority sense of what they are seeing. It is a terrifically skilled advisers, lead practitioners, some of them working role in terms of understanding what children are at regional level for the National Strategies and thinking, doing and learning, and helping and many of them becoming deputy heads and head supporting them in that. There is also a big drive to teachers. Having skilled, highly qualified early years involve families and communities more. There are teachers in the system means that they can broaden some clear messages about it being a bigger picture. their roles, and it also means that they will maintain We are trying to involve all the other aspects more. that very important early years perspective in Then there is the multi-professional and multi- whatever roles they take on in diVerent parts of the agency agenda of working across. It is not just about education system. We know from research that teachers and schools; it is about all the professions primary schools have the best early childhood that work with young children and families coming provision where there are senior managers who have together, I suppose, in the Every Child Matters an early childhood background. It is not just about agenda and so on. That is one aspect that I think is the focus that the early childhood teachers bring to really critical. As part of that, the big thing now is the children’s centres, reception classrooms and Key work force. From what I see of the work force, Stage 1. They bring a really important focus to all having trained at the university for so many years levels of education, right through to higher and having gone into local authorities, got feedback education institutions, and they bring that very from the work force and seen how they are centrally strong advocacy for early childhood into many raising the quality of provision and practice, I think levels and many spheres of education as well. The that one of the key issues is raising the aspirations second point I want to make is this. I am sure you are and confidence of that work force, which is all very familiar with the substantial body of predominantly female and predominantly made up international evidence about the quality of early of people who come out of school, perhaps with low childhood provision. There is very broad agreement qualifications and so on, and low aspirations. I think that that level of quality is only sustained by highly a big part of any sort of training is building qualified graduates in early childhood settings. I confidence and aspirations for people working with have a quotation from a UNICEF report. It is the children and families. It is about growing the work 2008 Report Card from the Innocenti report. It force. How do we move them on from being 16-year- encapsulates much of what everybody in this room olds at NVQ level 3 to being graduates? How do we would agree with. It states: “As a rule of thumb, give them that confidence? How do we step that approximately three quarters of the costs of approach to make it seem doable and achievable to providing early childhood services are accounted for them? They will be critical for leading practice, so for by salaries. As there is substantial evidence that staV me the work force, training and so on underpin with higher levels of education and more specialized everything. The other thing that I wanted to say was qualifications provide more stimulating and about quality. Quality is central to everything we do. supporting interaction with children, the scope for Part of that is about making sure that the work force cost-cutting is therefore limited if quality is to be we have know what they are doing and are highly maintained. Moreover, services that fall short of the skilled in the nought-to-five, nought-to-seven remit. required quality will not deliver benefits and may do It is about getting the settings and environments harm; they are therefore a waste of money no matter right for babies, toddlers and young children, how inexpensive they may be. Worse, from the point acknowledging the massive diVerence in the nought- of view of the best interests of the child, they to-five, nought-to-seven age range. There are very squander an opportunity that will not come again.” distinct—very diVerent—aspects to that. Those are So from the point of view of the best interests of the the sorts of things that are rocking my world at the child, I think that we must maintain qualified moment in relation to the work force and so on and teacher status for early childhood specialists. how we might develop that more via this Committee Chairman: Thank you for that Elizabeth. Sally? and in other ways as well. Sally Yates: I am a Londoner, so I am representing Chairman: We have two northern representatives the south, although my current role is Dean of here—two strong Yorkshire connections. Elizabeth, Education at Newman University College in I welcome you from Exeter. Birmingham and I am here representing UCET—the Professor Wood: I am a Yorkshire girl. Universities Council for the Education of Teachers. I Chairman: People will be saying there is prejudice on was a previous chair of the Primary and Early Years the part of the Chair. 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23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates university providers of teacher education. As such, it of provision for very young children. Research has provides a forum for those training teachers to share shown that parents would prefer to have the choice together the requirements for Qualified Teacher to have their child cared for out of their own home Status and early years expectations. Those providers environment in another home environment. If we of teacher training are also working in the look back at Victorian provision, child minders universities alongside early years specialists oVering might have emerged in our own culture for all the other programmes. Therefore, right from the wrong reasons. Alternatively, perhaps it was for the training of teachers, they are able to work in a right reasons, and it was because mothers had to go multidisciplinary way, and we are modelling the out to work and leave their children somewhere. It is ways forward. We are also working together with important to understand our traditions and our teacher trainers and other early years providers. We heritage, but now the kind of child minders we have are developing innovative CPD for the continuing means that they are the first port of call for many professional development that Liz has outlined to parents. We have huge amounts of complexity, and meet future work force needs. That is the perspective we have a very strong voluntary sector. The reason that I am bringing today. we have a very strong voluntary sector, as I am sure Committee members know, is that in the 1960s people—predominantly mothers—got tired of Q2 Chairman: Thank you for that; it has warmed us up. May I start by saying to you that I have been waiting around for the Government to open early Chair of the Committee for some time and it seems years provision for their children, and they set about frustrating that when we look at early years and doing it themselves. They rolled up their sleeves, compare ourselves with other countries— found themselves a church hall and became very particularly the Nordic countries—we find that our successful—in the way we have in this country of people who deal with early years seem to be much becoming successful if we put our minds to it—at less trained and less well paid? They seem to be of a making that kind of provision. Even in the early diVerent quality and that resonates with something days, I do not think that they expected that provision that Elizabeth—and all of you—has been saying. to become part of the mainstream, and they certainly You have all been saying that this is a marvellous did not expect it to be around in 2009. They always opportunity, but it is a marvellous opportunity to do envisaged that it would be short-term provision until what? What are the real reforms that should take Government provision became available on a much place now in the sector? What would you like us to bigger, stronger, broader basis, in the way we are recommend as a Committee because, from the doing now, with the kinds of entitlements we are briefing I have received, at the moment it all looks getting for two, three and four-year-old children, rather confused? It seems that either the which are relatively new. If you look at entitlements Department, the Government or the experts out for young children in the Nordic countries, they have there are not quite sure whether we should patch up been embedded in their democratic processes and what we have got or adopt Nordic methodology— political systems for a very long time, for particular for example, educational pedagogues. What is the reasons, so the heritage and the culture are an clear way forward, or should we just make do and important part of this. I remember when Gillian mend, as we usually do in this country? What is the Pugh started to write about integrated services. We way forward—is there a bold way forward, Pat? were talking about a richness and a diversity in this Professor Broadhead: I am sure that there might be country, and we were saying, “Let’s respect that a bold way forward. I do not know what it is at this richness and diversity.” The private sector became moment in time, but one of the things we should not influential because, again, there were gaps in do is adopt the methods of other countries and provision; there was nowhere for parents to take cultures. We have grown some excellent provision, their children—there was no provision. An awful and we have some very strong heritage in early years lot of the provision in this country grew up in this country. When I first started teaching in the in predominantly Labour strongholds, where ’60s and the ’70s, people were coming to this country councillors, often strong-minded women, bullied to have a look at what we were doing in early years their fellow councillors into opening nursery schools provision. People were coming to nursery schools in the ’30s for children in disadvantaged areas, for all that had been developed in the ’30s in areas of the same reasons that are around today for children significant disadvantage in the country.Such nursery in disadvantaged areas—those reasons have not schools were based on particular traditions, and on gone away. It does look chaotic and it does look a very strong traditions. People were coming here to mess, but there is a history to it all—it is rooted in look at what we were doing with children and commitments that people have had to making families, and I think that we were getting it right provision for children and families. back then. Q4 Chairman: But if we are where we are now, and a Q3 Chairman: Who were we getting it right for, lot of our early years work force is undertrained and because this is a country that calls part of its Early underpaid, is it not about time we did something Years Taskforce “child minders”? I do not know of more dramatic and substantial? any other country that does that. Professor Broadhead: Yes, pay them a decent wage. Professor Broadhead: “Child minder” is a term that Attract the right people into the job and give them relates to caring for children in a home environment. the training and development that they need to fulfil For an awful lot of parents, that is a first-choice form the requirements of these very complicated posts. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Q5 Chairman: Let us move across our panel. What where formal schooling starts at six. The is the appropriate training? When we visit places fragmentation of the early years provision in this such as Denmark, there seems to be general country has been very much aVected by the fact that agreement that someone has to be trained to we have four-year-olds in mainstream school. We understand child development—the way the child’s have had to fight to ensure that there is appropriate brain develops, creative play and much else—as well early years provision for those children in a school as many other things that seem to be common sense. setting as opposed to a day nursery—where it was in So we are choosing things from some alien culture, the past—in which there were very diVerent training are we? It is common sense that the curriculum for and preparation. people who work with young children should have elements that include child development, child Q6 Chairman: Reception classes have just gone psychology and all those other child development earlier. When a previous Committee looked at early issues, but we do not have that in this country,do we? years, we warned that if we had nursery provision Professor Wood: Yes, I think we do. Do you mean within schools, there was a real danger of reception do we have that curriculum within teacher education shifting a year earlier. Is that not where we are now? and teacher preparation programmes? Yes, I would Sally Yates: I think that it is something more than argue that we do. that. It is an understanding of how young children Chairman: But I have evidence showing that it is very learn. Reception was treated very diVerently, as a patchy. Some of the courses for training teachers do sort of early years provision, then pupils went on to not include child development at all. more formal schooling. Understanding that children Professor Wood: The reason why child development needed very particular provision to support their may have disappeared oV the curriculum in teacher learning and provide a foundation for the rest of preparation programmes is that we are required to their education—by starting earlier at three— deliver specific outcomes for TDA, and those have challenged what children would be doing in shifted much more clearly towards subject matter reception class. It helped the whole concept of child knowledge. Subject matter knowledge is important development because teachers were saying, “If for early childhood teachers—I would not take that children do this from three to five, what is my role out of our curriculum. However, that needs to be with the five-year-olds who come in to reception?” I melded with contemporary child development think that that has helped with looking at those theories, and not ages-and-stages approaches, developmental stages. What has been missing is a because teachers and Early Years Professionals are real quantification of how many teachers we need. coming out into 21st-century settings with 21st- The DCSF, when it is making projections about century children. We have such enormous diversity allocations of teacher training numbers, engages in in this country, and that is the complexity that they quite a deep analysis of the needs at secondary level. need to understand. If child development theory has It knows exactly how many history or maths gone out, I would lay the responsibility with TDA. teachers it needs and the allocations are made in a Sally Yates: I am bursting to come in there. I agree very targeted way. As Pat mentioned earlier, in that you are perhaps not seeing a lot of courses called primary, we are just given general numbers. There is “Child Development”, but that does not mean it is an allocation for early years, but there has been no not there—the terminology may have changed. I analysis of exactly how many we need. There has think we are addressing the subject requirements of been no marketing to get the best people in for those the curriculum through looking at how children early years places, because the marketing is targeted learn and how children learn within particular at the secondary shortage. As there have been subjects. Those elements of child development developments in the work force, we need to bring all appear in teacher training programmes in a strand of that together so that we have a clear idea of how that is often called “Professional Studies”, which is many people we need in each sector of early years about how children learn, how teachers teach and and how they can work together. what those roles are. They are also embedded in the subjects, so cross-referencing is there. Then, of Q7 Chairman: This is what I am trying to get from course, students go out into schools and bring back you. If we gave you a blank sheet of paper and said, that knowledge. Therefore, it is very much a part of “Redesign the training of teachers for early years teacher education. At times, it is squeezed by primary education,” what would it look like? Would external constraints, which is why universities have it be joined up? I am getting the feeling that you are such an important role to play in teacher education. reasonably content. Yet when we stumbled over this Whatever external requirements there are for area in the past, when we looked at teaching children subjects and so on, that protection of what is to read, we found that many of the departments that important for a student to know in going out to taught teachers did not know anything about work in an early years setting is embedded in the teaching children to read, let alone understanding programme to meet those needs. As for teacher systems. Basically, we recommended that any system training and the development of early years within of teaching a child to read seems to work as long as schools, the important fact that, in this country, it is used systematically and the teachers are trained formal schooling has started so young has very much to use the system. Evidence was given to the aVected the development of early years provision in Committee that nobody trained the teachers in comparison with other European countries, North teaching children to read. What sort of teacher and South America, Australia and New Zealand, training is that? Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 20 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Sally Yates: I think that that may have been a long Q9 Chairman:Am I pushing too hard Liz? I am time ago. trying to get a response by being a bit pushy on Chairman: No, it was not—it was recently. I am not this issue. talking about phonics or synthetic phonics. We are Professor Wood: I think that you need to have a not looking for anything peculiar or innovative, but broader vision of the complexity of teacher for traditional ways of teaching children to read, and education programmes. Because I have a long view we found that that was not in the curriculum for of this, I know the way that we have had to teachers. continually change and adapt our programmes in Sally Yates: It is in the curriculum for teachers, and relation to diVerent kinds of policy drivers. For it is in every university that provides training for example, when Every Child Matters came on stream, teachers. That is partly because we would insist on it we needed to map that into our PGCE primary and being there, but it is also a requirement. We have had secondary programmes and look at the implications very close Ofsted inspection—literacy and numeracy for how we worked with teachers in their initial are a primary focus for any Ofsted inspection. The teacher education year. New technologies are fact that over 90% of students training to teach are coming into schools and society all the time, and in grade A or B providers or institutions, teachers have to learn how to work with those new demonstrates a clear focus on the teaching of technologies. I had a teacher working with my students a few weeks ago. Her four-year-olds are reading and literacy. The TDA’s report for the last doing animations on computers. I cannot do year said that we had the best ever teachers coming animations on computers. We have to adapt to new out. There is quite a fight in most teacher training policy drivers. Some of those policy drivers are very institutions when tutors try to defend their other positive and empowering, but some have been far subjects and say that there is far too much of the core too prescriptive and constraining. We are also subjects. So much time for these students must be responding to things such as multi-agency working, given to literacy and numeracy, as that is at the heart and work with other professionals in early of what they do. If children are not literate, it will childhood and primary settings; how to use other V a ect the rest of their learning. It is a very big part of knowledge bases, including those of psychologists, teacher training. speech therapists and physiotherapists, and how teachers work within those multi-agency remits. You are talking about radical change, but we have Q8 Chairman: I thought that I was going to get a constantly had to adapt our teacher education radical view from you, saying that we really need to programmes to take on board all these diVerent do something dramatic. I am not getting that feeling. influences. I always use the metaphor of the Plimsoll Di Chilvers: I have listened to what everybody is line: if you put something else on the boat, you have saying. I am not sure that we need to throw to take something oV, otherwise it sinks. We have everything out and start afresh. Pat has made an been in danger of sinking, because too many things important statement about us having a long history have been put on the teacher education boat, and on in this country of early childhood and successful the early childhood and primary curriculum boats. early years practice. I am not sure that we need to Chairman: Good, that has got us started. We are all throw everything out and start again. It needs to be warmed up. reflected on. This reminds me of the sort of approach that we find in New Zealand, if we go a bit further I am very interested in what Pat afield than Scandinavia. The early years document Q10 Mr Heppell: was saying about culture and history. I remind the there has shaped the training of practitioners and the Chairman that, while doing something on looked- development of kindergartens and so on. It has after children, we went to Denmark—he likes shaped assessment and the way in which people talking about Nordic countries, except Finland, work with families and communities. It is a very which he is not too keen on—where we saw a most holistic way of working. We are at a particularly innovative project, but we were told that much better good point: we could use the documentation that we work was being done in a place called “Gatishead”. have on the early years foundation stage to begin to After a while the Member for Gateshead said, “You underpin and focus training across the nought to mean Gateshead, don’t you?” She went all the way five—although I would like to see nought to seven— to Denmark to be told that the best project is in her age range, using the key principles and practice of constituency. I think, therefore, that there is some the foundation stage to give clear messages about merit in what you say about us being diVerent from what is right for young children. The messages are other people. I am worried that the roles of early that it is about learning through play, child years teachers and professionals seem to be a little development and knowing what makes children tick. clouded. The Chairman is right that if we went to a We must know how to observe children eVectively Nordic country, we would see a team that is not just and how to build on their interest and develop their teacher-led: there would be psychologists, thinking and move that on. There are a lot of key pedagogues and all sorts. I worry that there is a indicators in that documentation which indicate that tendency always to think that the teacher should this is what we should look at when we train people take the lead—so much so that anecdotal evidence out there to work with children and families. suggests that people become Early Years Perhaps it is a case of bringing it together and Professionals, then train to become teachers, streamlining things a bit more. because there are better conditions and salaries. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 21

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

That raises two things: it makes us think, “Will we the nature of professional engagement and end up with no Early Years Professionals, because it professional roles and the complementarity of is looked on as second-class and people aspire to those roles. take it as a stepping stone to becoming a teacher?” Or could that work the other way around? If local I am just wondering whether authorities were looking at costs, they might decide, Q11 Mr Heppell: anyone wants to add anything to that. What would “Well, can’t an Early Years Professional lead this you advise? If you had a three-year-old child, which particular project and we can phase out teachers.” sort of setting would you want them to be in? Would What is the view on that? Is that a real worry? it be in the children’s centre or would it be in the Professor Broadhead: It is a huge worry. In fact, I nursery class in a school? What would you think think that it has happened already in many would be the best practice? authorities. The early years foundation stage has Professor Broadhead: Research tells us that the brought back a requirement for a teacher in a nursery school is the best practice—the well- maintained nursery class. However, there are ways established traditional nursery school that may or round that. It is a budgeting issue. I think that there may not have been making the transformation to a is a huge danger that we will lose teachers from early children’s centre, that is staVed by a head teacher, years settings. Some would argue that that is because qualified teachers and nursery nurses and is in a the education grant is not big enough to pay for the location with wonderful outdoor provision as well as numbers of teachers needed and the numbers of wonderful indoor provision. If you were asking me early years settings now developing with the growth where would I choose, if I could find a nursery in children’s centres. There is also an issue about school, my tradition and experience would take me looking at the complementarity of the roles. That is to that nursery school. And the research evidence hard to do at the moment, because the Early Years would say the same as well. Professional is a new role, whereas the teacher’s role Chairman: Are you all nodding to that? is an established one. However, the teacher’s role is Professor Wood: Yes. changing in those early years settings, because teachers who go to work in children’s centres find V that they need new levels of skills and skills Q12 Mr Heppell: What is the main di erence development. I shall be briefly anecdotal: when I between the training that a teacher would get—the started my teaching career in SheYeld, many years initial teacher training—and the training for an Early Years Professional who was in a children’s ago, the local authority made a decision to put V teachers back into nursery settings, all of which, at centre? What would be the di erence in the training that they would get? that time, were run by nursery nurses. The local V authority had the power to do so, but it took the Sally Yates: There are a number of di erences. One of the key diVerences is that an early years teacher is decision to put teachers back. When I arrived at my not trained just—there is no value judgment in the first nursery school, the head teacher said to me, word “just”—in nought to five provision. They have “You’re in that classroom over there, with Irene to train over two key stages, so they would train in Dace, the nursery nurse, and she doesn’t want to the foundation stage and Key Stage 1, and they work with a teacher.” That was the ethos in which would have to have an awareness of the key stages one found oneself. To this day, Irene and I get on around that. They would have to have some very well. We worked out a way of working together, awareness of Key Stage 2, which means that they are and I learned an awful lot, as a beginning teacher, looking at a continuum of development, and they from a very experienced nursery nurse. People need would have had experience of teaching in those key help, however, in understanding the stages even if they focus on early years. They look at complementarity of the roles and the ways in which child development, but they are doing a lot more. that might manifest itself. The early years That means that even if they are doing an professional needs to be seen as a high-status role undergraduate early years specialism training, they across the range or types of jobs that places such as would perhaps do less early years than someone who children’s centres are doing. There is a huge amount is doing a whole early years degree. They are looking of work to be done in such centres. They are very in a diVerent way at children’s learning. challenging places to work in, and we need Traditionally, they had much less of a focus on care complementarity in those roles. However, that needs and some of the elements that they are having to to be addressed and made explicit. We are pushing it address now in the early years foundation stage. But under the carpet, and it is creating tensions for early that has broadened out, so that the early years years professionals and teachers. I was in a children’s foundation stage and the early learning goals that centre last week and I saw that. I was taken around had been in place have enabled them to address more by a very experienced early years professional who thoroughly the fuller scope of early years, but they has only just got her status, and she was looking after are doing it in the context of looking at the whole of children in the birth to three area and doing a lot of the Key Stage 1 curriculum as well. They are also the outreach work with parents. When we moved looking at managing other professionals in the field, into the nursery setting, her demeanour changed. and that is where I think the strength, as I said, of She became more defensive, she became less sure of having an education alongside people who are her status and her position, and I think we need to training for another element of the work force is so bring that out into the open and start talking about strong. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 22 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Q13 Mr Heppell: Are you telling me that the training of those settings to gain that experience. That would for early years professionals would not give them the be for a full-time equivalent to a PGCE-type training to be the lead in a team in a centre? qualification. They would have to go into those Sally Yates: No, there is a lot of leadership in the settings and get that experience, then they would early years profession. Because there have been have a mentor and an assessor, and they would also managers of early years settings for quite a number have underpinning knowledge at the university, of years, that leadership role and leading a team is which would be through a whole range of things. For important. The diVerence is the responsibility a instance, at the university where I taught, they have teacher has for the accountability of children’s to do two masters modules at the same time as doing achievement within statutory curriculum the work in settings. There would be taught and requirements, but that has changed with the early practice elements, and they would be undertaking years curriculum coming in. I think it is the broader the two masters modules, as well as gaining the Early role across the primary school that is very specific to Years Professional status. teaching. Professor Broadhead: I think I am right—I hope I Q15 Mr Heppell: I am a little confused. Are you am not wrong—about the situation for an early talking about teachers at the moment, or are you years teacher, following a one-year route. I am not talking about the TDA stuV? thinking about undergraduates, who have a huge Di Chilvers: About the Early Years Professional. amount of school-based experience. However, if we Can I just say that for me, the two roles are quite make comparisons with the one-year PGCE course, complementary in many ways. What a teacher has to the school-based experience of the PGCE student is oVer is very complementary to what an early years greater than that of an early years professional. It is professional has to oVer. For instance, in a children’s about the amount of time that they spend in schools, centre, the early years professional would be leading taking responsibility for children’s learning. That is practice, although they would be working directly what a teacher takes responsibility for; that is what with the children in that centre, across the nought- they have to demonstrate through their competences to-five or nought-to-four age range. The teacher when they are out on placements in school—that would also be leading on that, but they would be they can understand, support and deliver on the leading across the multi-agency nature of the complexities of children’s learning, the assessment of children’s centre. The teacher would perhaps be children’s learning and so on. working with health visitors.

Q14 Chairman: John is picking up on this, but I Q16 Mr Heppell: Why can a professional worker not certainly am not. Could you tell us clearly how an do that? Early Years Professional is trained and paid in Di Chilvers: They would do that as well, but initially, comparison with a teacher? their remit is to lead on practice. The teacher would Professor Broadhead: I am not sure that I can tell be there, and they would, in my experience, work you very clearly. more broadly across the locality, not just in the Di Chilvers: I can tell you about how an early years children’s centre—they have a broader remit of professional is trained, because that was what I was working out there in the locality. They would be doing for my final year before I left university. There training in other settings, perhaps working with the were diVerent pathways, so it would depend on the schools and so on. But for me, it is about what we experience and knowledge of the person which train these young people who work with young pathway they would take. For instance, if you have children to do. When you asked where I would a children’s centre teacher, who had taken a degree rather have my three-year-old, I would rather have for three to sevens, but needed the underpinning them in the setting where the people working there, knowledge and experience of the nought to fours, the practitioners, are the best trained—have the best they would probably have to follow a six-month knowledge about young children and how they learn pathway for an EYP to be able to get that knowledge and develop and can be supported and so on—have of nought to fours. It depends—some people will do the best experience and have benefits of continuing a six-month pathway, some will do a 15-month professional development. It is not just, “Right, here pathway and others will do a full-time pathway. we are”, we have trained this person, however long That is all dependent on the sort of experience that it has taken, but it is that these people are continually person has from the beginning, which is judged training and upskilling themselves, perhaps being through their taking an initial assessment, called a involved in such programmes as Every Child a gateway review. So they cannot proceed Talker, seed initiatives, CLLD (Communication, automatically on the pathway; it will depend on Language and Literacy Development) and so on. whether they get through that gateway review, which They are continually building on their knowledge will review their competences and experience at that and experience, being very reflective. Wherever that point. If they feel that they have not got that, then is happening, whether with teachers or early years they will have to go on to a longer pathway. A full- professionals, that would be the bottom line that I time early years professional would have to have would want for all children. three placements—one with babies, one with toddlers and one with young children—as the EYP Q17 Mr Heppell: Finally, when I am looking at what has to have experience across the age range of the the standards are supposed to be for early years EYFS. They could do something like 36 days in each professionals, standard 4 says that they should Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 23

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates acknowledge and understand the “main provisions Di Chilvers: It is 2,800, of which 40% have QTS as of the national and local statutory and non- well. statutory frameworks within which children’s services work and their implications for early years Q19 Chairman: And how much do they earn settings.” That is quite broad, but early years compared to very good teachers? professionals should, for standard 37, “demonstrate Professor Broadhead: A lot less, I think would be the through their practice that . . . they can lead and answer. Local authorities can pay them as they support others to . . . develop and use skills in please. There is no statutory wage scale on which literacy, numeracy and information and they are paid. communication technology to support their work with children and wider professional activities.” That almost suggests that they are being told, Q20 Chairman: Is this an attempt to undermine the “You’ve got to be able to widen yourself out.” The teaching profession and pay less or is it, for all your only diVerence that I can see is that teachers can step protestations, a way of getting educational over into five to seven and have some experience of pedagogues in by the back door, without calling that, whereas the early years practitioners cannot. It them educational pedagogues? seems to me that there is maybe a better road for the Professor Broadhead: I think the term “pedagogue” Training and Development Agency and the was used a few years ago and there was a huge Children’s Workforce Development Council, who resistance to it within the profession. The term “Early Years Professional” subsequently emerged. have done the stuV, to get their act together and My personal view is that with the expansion of figure out exactly what they want. You may provision for children and families, somebody understand it, but I am certainly still a little confused somewhere realised that it was going to cost an awful about what those roles are. lot of money to have teachers in all these settings. Professor Wood: That is a good point. The Early There is a concern that it is the development of a Years Professional is still a relatively new kid on the status and there are no requirements for local block. There is enormous scope for those roles to be authorities to pay people anything other than what clarified and harmonised in practice. For me, some they choose to pay. of the distinction between an Early Years Di Chilvers: One of the main points is that early Professional and a Qualified Teacher is that the years professionals are there to meet a need that is Qualified Teacher would have much more not being covered by teachers, because there are not specialised knowledge of pedagogy in early enough early years teachers—they are thin on the childhood and of curriculum design, planning and ground and there are not that many of them. Early delivery—it would be their responsibility to design years are there to raise the game in the PVI sector. the teaching and learning environment, to design This is a where the big gap was. some of the activities and to set the expectations of Chairman: For Hansard, “PVI” means “private, what adults and children will do in that setting. voluntary and independent”. Those would be the educational—learning— Di Chilvers: There was a massive concern about the expectations of what would happen. I am not saying quality of provision in the PVI sector and the fact that learning is the only important thing, because all that there was a high turnover of staV, the fact that good professionals see children in 360) perspective, they were very young and not that experienced and but we have got to a stage now where we have an so on. The quality of those settings was not as good enormously rich knowledge about appropriate as it should be. The need was met. Someone said, curricula and pedagogy in early childhood settings. “Let’s get a graduate in here.” That built on the That very rich and complex knowledge comes research that said wherever there is a graduate, the through the route of teacher education, and not as quality of the setting is raised and the children have much through the route of the Early Years a better experience. The EYP is there to raise the Professional. Again, now that we have that body of quality of settings in the PVI sector, not in teaching, knowledge, we should not lose it and we certainly because they are not in the maintained sector. The should not be diluting it. funding that goes with that—the graduate leader Professor Broadhead: May I add one quick point. If funding—is there to enhance their pay, to give them we take the children’s centre as an example, it is opportunities for further CPD and to undertake likely—but not in every case—that the teachers training, so that they will not have to pay for the working in children’s centres would be experienced training for EYP and so on. In fact, the full-time professionals. They would not be newly qualified EYPs get a £5,000 bursary to do that. We have a teachers. But early years professionals may go out clear distinction. The role of the EYP is very much when they are newly qualified to work in children’s about raising the quality in the PVI sector, which is centres. There are issues around that. crucial. Sally Yates: Di outlined a very positive model of training EYPs, which included masters level work— Q18 Chairman: How many early years professionals it was very commendable. However, I think that this are there now? Do we have the figures here is very new and it will need very careful monitoring. I somewhere? have been in dialogue with the local authority about Professor Broadhead: I think that we were told meeting proposals in their children’s plan for getting outside the room that there were something like graduate leaders, and they were talking about 2,500 now, or 2,800. conversion from a foundation degree just to get the Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 24 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates minimum credit accumulation transfer scheme ever any monitoring of this—that early years courses points for a degree, to be able to meet the in higher education establishments were closing. requirement to be a graduate leader without going They are actually quite expensive to staV—you need on to a full honours degree. That is just about a lot of expertise among the staV to deliver. They are meeting requirements, without really thinking, also generally quite small courses, compared with “What is the best way of producing the best primary courses, in a lot of institutions. We are professional to be able to deliver?” If you do not concerned that a number of them were lost, but I do want the honours part, you would perhaps not not think that there has been any research into those engage with a dissertation and learn about inquiry- kinds of closures of early years courses and the based learning or do some research yourself, which transference of numbers in primary routes. would impact on how well the role was going to be fulfilled. Teacher education has been very tightly regulated. We know that we have good early Q22 Fiona Mactaggart: I was interested in one of the education teachers because we have had very careful things that Di said earlier, when she described a scrutiny and we are very accountable. We know that vision of a nought-to-seven training route. I find that attractive, but I notice that in TACTYC’s evidence, we have a loss of a large number of A and B Y V providers and I think the Early Years Professional it said: “It would be potentially di cult to sta a status is going to need very careful scrutiny if those course if it incorporated two age phases birth–3 and best models are going to be used across the sector. 3–5, as courses are often linked with Key Stage 2 Things could be very variable, particularly with the provision for placements etc.” I cannot quite level of funding that is going into it. understand why we cannot have a nought-to-seven route with some flexibility within it. I want to understand properly what the problems and the Q21 Fiona Mactaggart: We have heard a couple of advantages are with that. Di, you have already said times about the shortage of early years teachers. As something about the advantages, so let us give Pat a I understand it, the Training and Development go on the problems. Agency still does not publish data on the number of Professor Broadhead: Sally was just saying that we early years trainees and teachers. Do you know why do have them, to some extent, but I do not think that and whether there is any chance of that happening? they are marketed as birth-to-seven courses. They Professor Broadhead: The TDA says that it is would be marketed as three-to-seven courses, with looking at it. some opportunities for students to look, perhaps in Sally Yates: The way in which allocations are given modules on undergraduate courses, at issues around seems to be a little arbitrary for early years. We are birth to three as preparation for the changing role of given set numbers of early years trainees that we can teachers out in the workplace. There has been some take on, but I do not know that it is particularly expansion and some loosening at the edges for related to vacancy. There is not necessarily a huge courses in terms of opportunities to develop. They understanding about what the diVerence is. We have are not marketing them as birth-to-seven routes, but many routes into teaching to facilitate anyone who they are including modules for students, which are wants to teach—whether they are mature people looking at the birth-to-three issues for them. coming from employment, or whatever—to get into Sally Yates: They are not marketing them as birth to teaching, but that can be very confusing. Because of three because the TDA requirements at the moment the specialist terminology that we use—primary, are very specific in saying that you have to work in infants, junior, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2, early two key stages. The current requirement says that years—people do not always understand what it is this does not mean that you have to address nought that they can be applying for. So we have to do a lot to three. That is about to change, but that was very of work in demonstrating exactly what it is to be an specifically outlined in the requirements, so they will early years teacher and the benefits of early years become nought to seven. This is where we have a training. Some people think that they are going to be partnership because in teacher training we do not held back in their careers if they do early years focus have a whole load of staV who know about the training. They do not realise that once you have nought-to-three curriculum, but that is where we qualified teacher status, you can teach anywhere and liaise with our early years partners in the institutions someone will employ you, even though your training and bring those students together, to model that co- has to focus on two key stages. I think that we have working across the sector. to do a lot more ourselves in order to make sure that Di Chilvers: The issue would be about who would that is understood, but the marketing of teacher teach the nought-to-four bit. That is a specialised training really needs to focus on the early years as and really important area. In this country, we do not well. give our under-threes the credit that they deserve, in Professor Broadhead: There were concerns linked to terms of their potential and the creative thinking the point that Liz was making a little earlier about that they engage in. We can learn from other the downward pressures on initial teacher education countries about the way that they work with their courses to deliver on subjects and subject under-threes. But it is not just a case of going in and knowledge. I think that there were concerns in some spending a few days with the under-threes and institutions that they could not do that with early thinking, “Oh well, that’s fine. I can do that now.” years courses. In fact, they were losing too much of We have to get professionals who really understand the things that they believed in. There were concerns babies and toddlers. That, for me, is one of the areas at some point—I do not know whether there was that we should be focusing on more; whether you are Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 25

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates a teacher or an EYP, we should be focusing on that Chairman: That sounds sensible. nought to four. We are now running the Every Child Sally Yates: I would pick up the words that appear A Talker programme, which focuses very much on in some of the documentation, such as “enjoy” and children’s development of talk, with a lot of early “achieve”. If we ensure that children achieve—that years professionals leading on that, because it is they do well—that keeps the enjoyment in there. becoming part of their CPD. There are also teachers Really outstanding practitioners can achieve both on that. Part of that programme is about developing those things together. The constraints that Elizabeth your knowledge of children’s talk alongside speech talked about can get in the way of enjoyment, but therapists and bringing the agencies together to help children are natural learners, and if we can achieve, with that. It is a very specialist area with babies and but also include the enjoyment, so that children are toddlers, and if we are going to do that, we need to motivated to learn, we will have high-quality get the people in there to teach it properly. provision. But if we just focus on achievement without that enjoyment, yes, we will get drift down. I think we can achieve both, with vision and expertise. Q23 Fiona Mactaggart: From the responses that I Di Chilvers: What I would like, which is quite an have heard from all of you, it seems that settings led exciting prospect—it is for me, anyway—is for all by people with early years training provide a better our early years practitioners, regardless of whether experience for the youngest children, whether it is a they are teachers, EYPs, nursery nurses or others, to school where the head teacher has had early years have a really good understanding of what it says in training or whatever. I feel that the curriculum drift the early years foundation stage. If you actually take pressure, particularly in school settings, is all up, that on board, read it, unpick it, discuss it, chew it rather than down; it is all towards the older ages and about with each other and so on, and focus on the towards the subjects, and away from playfulness and clear principles and practices in there, you can see children experimenting, making a mess and that there is good, sound pedagogy—there is spending time learning how to get their shoe on the pedagogy about play and about observation— right foot—all the stuV that is an inherent part of the which can be used for assessment and so on. Where experience of the earliest years. I suppose that I am we start to waver and lose the way is when people asking you four what one recommendation that we tend to decipher it in diVerent ways or tend to water could come up with in this inquiry would anchor the it down, or perhaps tend to bring national best quality in early years provision through curriculum pedagogy into it, which skews it a bit. training. The reason that happens is because people are not Chairman: Let us start with Elizabeth and work our secure enough with the principles; they are not secure way upwards. enough with the practice. If they were, and they were Professor Wood: You want one recommendation empowered by that and were able to put it into that would— practice through their training and through Fiona Mactaggart: One that would really help continual CPD, I think that it would mean that they through training to nail better provision in the early would not necessarily feel that they have this top- years and to stop it drifting into other things, where down pressure, that they have a key stage in their the risk is. own right that is actually from nought to five, not Professor Wood: That is very diYcult because of the from five to nought. Do you see what I mean? I think impact of the national strategies and the downward it is about training the people who work with pressures from assessment testing and the national children to understand inside out those key curriculum. It has been consistently diYcult for early principles. years teachers to practise what they have learned in Professor Broadhead: My answer connects with all their teacher education programmes, because there the points that my colleagues have made. When I is this constant tension, as Pat alluded to at the was appointed as a professor at Leeds Met, the title beginning, between what we know about very high- I negotiated for myself was Professor of Playful quality early years curriculum and pedagogy and the Learning. That might give you an indication of ways in which early years teachers are sometimes where I am going to go with this. For me, the required to teach—sometimes in the private sector, anchor—the embedding—is an understanding of and certainly in reception classes and upwards. The children’s playful learning, and the playful pedagogies that accompany it. If we could see that, interim report of the Rose review is heralding some begin to unpack it and help early years practitioners, very positive messages, not just for early childhood, teachers or whatever they are to understand how but for primary education as a whole, because the children learn through play, then I think we could words “flexibility” and “creativity” appear quite a transform the profession. That is not simple, because lot. It also places much more emphasis on using and there is not a lot of research out there showing how applying knowledge—not just on delivering it, but children learn through play in educational settings. on ensuring that children, right from birth to seven, For me, that would be the anchor. can use and apply what they are learning, not just in school settings, but in their home and community settings as well. For me, one of the most powerful Q24 Mr Chaytor: May I pursue the question of the messages would be much better integration of the interim Rose review. You all referred to it in a early childhood and primary curricula and a much positive light. What is there in the review that was stronger upward extension of tried-and-tested early not in the report of the Plowden Committee 40 childhood pedagogies into primary education. years ago? Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 26 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Professor Broadhead: I am sorry. What is there in enjoyment, flexibility, creativity, experimentation where? and play will feed through into all teacher training Mr Chaytor: What is there in the interim Rose review departments and the diVerent providers of teacher that was not in the report of the Plowden Committee training up and down the country? 40 years ago? Are we just reinventing it, or is there Sally Yates: Can I come in there. The Rose review is something in it that is new and distinctive? one of two primary reviews that have presented their Sally Yates: I think some of the vision that Plowden findings in rather diVerent ways. Certainly the Rose had is there, but within a framework of expectation review is provoking debate, and that debate is being of achievement. At the moment, that is still a bit related back to the research that Elizabeth heavy. It is not that we do not want children to mentioned, but the Cambridge review has been achieve, but we have all seen the cartoons with the feeding research papers from its inquiry over the last elephant in the room with SATs, which is getting in couple of years, and those have informed in a deeper the way. The understanding of how children learn is way the development of programmes. What we are there, but in Plowden it was very strong that it always trying to do is that although we have our lists should be left to the individual teacher, but we are in of requirements and standards, whether we are a growing phase with accountability and the dealing with teacher training or with the early years individual teacher does not have the same power. It professional status, underpinning that is all the would be good to get some of that back, because I research that we do ourselves, which informs those think that we lose some very good trainees who find programmes. Ensuring that we have that sound that a bit constricting; they come in because they are basis to inform the way that we move forward is bursting with excitement to work with children, and what will be a strength. There are some just find it a bit too constraining. I started at the commonalities between the two reviews. Both of beginning by talking about the visits that you had them look at breaking away from just subject made to other countries. When we have visiting disciplines into ways of delivering the curriculum teachers from other countries talking about their that reflect the realities of how children learn. It will teaching, they are very surprised at how little be in that informed way that we take on autonomy a teacher has in this country. We need to curriculum change. trust the professionals to interpret what Rose said. That is the big diVerence. With Plowden, there were the ideas about clustering and understanding what Q26 Mr Chaytor: More specifically,how are the QTS the children bring in, and about the very particular standards changed? What is the process for nature of the way in which children learn, but there reviewing them? Is that not the logical consequence was no framework to ensure that there would be an of what you are saying? If the Cambridge review has equality of attainment. I think that that is what we been feeding through and disseminating its research, have, but we just need to soften it a bit. sooner or later that will influence the thinking of Professor Wood: I would argue that Plowden was those responsible for establishing the QTS much more strongly ideological than the interim standards. Is there a process of osmosis or a formal report of the Rose review. We have got a far better procedure? and much more extensive theoretical and research Sally Yates: The standards were revised in 2007 for base about how young children learn and develop, 2008 implementation, but they have been written in appropriate pedagogies and an exciting curriculum. quite broad terms. They refer to delivering within The Rose review reflects a much more socio-cultural statutory documentation so that if the requirements approach to teaching and learning; the Plowden for the primary curriculum change, we can adapt our report reflected a much more Piagetian ages and programmes quickly. Of course, the standards are stages readiness approach to teaching and learning. also written to reflect what we are already doing, just Rather than waiting for children to be ready, as what Jim Rose put in his report is not new. It is powerful teachers know how to provoke and inspire happening in lots of schools already, because good a willingness to learn. They do not just take a practitioners have adapted their practice to reflect watching and waiting approach. I think that there what children need. In a way, we can work within the have been some powerful theoretical shifts between standards as they are. When they are next up for Plowden and Rose. review, we will ensure that we suggest changes. Already in terms of early years, for example, the current standards talk about teaching lessons and Q25 Mr Chaytor: Can I ask about the link. I am sequences of lessons, which does not really reflect picking up on something that Di said earlier. You early years practice. We interpret that. We have quoted New Zealand, saying that the quality of annotated copies ready for suggesting a further teacher preparation there is influenced by the review. national policy statement on early years. Presumably, the Plowden report had some influence on the nature of teacher training in the following Q27 Mr Chaytor: If that were the case, there would years, and presumably you are hoping that the Rose be consistency of quality across all teacher training review, when the final version is published, will also providers. We are focusing on early years at the have some influence. How does it influence? How is moment. Some of the written submissions that we the content of teacher training courses shaped by a have received suggest that one issue is the great report such as the Rose review? Is there some formal variation in quality and variation in style and mechanism whereby the new emphasis on approach. Di, you referred earlier to those who are Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 27

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates not fully taking on board the messages of the applying to early years, and we have had lots of foundation stage and are not secure in their examples of that, but we also have some people who understanding of it. How do you deal with the issue think, “Well, if I do early years, the sums might not of the great variation that there seems to be in the be so hard, and that won’t be quite so challenging for quality of those of who are coming out, or in their me,” so we have to really filter and make sure that understanding of the principles? those who are applying for early years programmes Di Chilvers: I cannot comment about the TDA, have had experience in the field, have a deep because I have been out of uni for a year. I do not understanding of what they are doing, and are not know fully how it all happened and whether it just applying because they think it is easier, but realise evolved, but the EYP standards evolved out of lots that it is one of the most challenging jobs in of diVerent things, such as what the research— education. I think that that is what is ensuring that EPPE, REPEY and SPEEL—was saying.1 It we are producing high-quality people. evolved out of the fact that needs had to be met in the private, voluntary and independent sector. Bits of quality were missing in that sector. When the Q29 Mr Chaytor: Could I move on to CPD and standards started to be put together, it went out to maybe ask Pat about the availability of early years public discussion. Higher education providers and CPD for teachers and head teachers. What is the various people were all called together to have quite state of play? interesting think-days, when we were asked what Professor Broadhead: I cannot speak about the important things were to be included in the position nationally, but based on conversations and standards. A raft of people were asked to those days. visits I have had I think it has been relatively limited. Through all that collating of research, the bringing It is focused predominantly on issues around literacy together of key providers and people in the field and and teaching children phonics. I think with the other ways, although I do not know all the ways in introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage which it was brought together, we ended up with there is a statutory requirement for local authorities those 39 standards, which are much more specific. to oVer training to early years providers, but I am The QTS standards are very generic because they not sure that they are getting a lot beneath the have to cover all the key stages. Therefore, it is hard. surface. I think we need a culture shift to really start Here are these EYP standards that focus very much to oVer it. I do not see many courses around that are on the nought-to-five agenda. It is perfect. It is a talking to early years practitioners, be they teachers dream because it is everything that you feel should or early years professionals, and I think there is a real be there for early years professionals and issue about whether we are allowed to train them practitioners, but then the QTS standards have to be together on our CPD courses, but I do not see many across all those key stages, so it is diYcult for them courses that are around developing understanding to be specific to early years. Is that something that we of playful learning and playful pedagogy, or need to be a bit more directive about? Do we need to assessing children’s learning through playful say that the standards need to be more specific? approaches. I think the shift will come—I hope the shift will come—and I think that the Rose review could bring a sea change in the nature of the CPD In terms of variability, what does Q28 Mr Chaytor: opportunities. I do have a big concern about the Ofsted say? Ofsted has responsibility for inspecting masters in teaching and learning and the ways in teacher training, but I have not picked up from our which it will or will not be applicable to teachers in briefing documents what the most recent judgement early years settings. I know that it is starting to of Ofsted is about teacher training for the early unfold in its piloting, and I am sure that it will years. Did it say anything striking? change and develop, but it is very practice-oriented. Sally Yates: Not so much in terms of early years, but That is good—it is important for teachers to focus in terms of the sector generally, it has been very on their practice—but I really do think, when we positive. As I said, most providers have an A or B status. They are doing very well. Where there has look at what changes teachers’ thinking, it is when been variability, we have to look at the time scales. they can link the theoretical ideas and understanding Not so long ago, we were desperate to get people with their deepening understanding of children’s training to be teachers. There were a few years when learning processes. It really is about the learning we were balancing getting bodies in front of children. processes and starting to understand this. So I have We are not in that position now. In my institution, we some concerns about the masters in teaching and could have nine applicants for each place on a learning. I would love to see early years teachers and primary course for early years. That is a change practitioners looking at a masters in teaching and because we had more in the past. The rigour at learning about playful learning, in their own selection is something that will help. We know from settings—“What is that; what does it mean?”—and Ofsted that we have consistent programmes and we focusing on those kinds of areas. I am concerned it are looking at really refining our entrants. That is does not remain subject-focused, as opposed to more important, because we have outstanding people generically focused around children’s learning processes within early years settings. 1 EPPE: EVective Provision of Pre-School Education project, REPEY: Researching EVective Pedagogy in Early Years project and SPEEL: Study of Pedagogical EVectiveness in Q30 Mr Chaytor: But the masters in teaching and Early Learning learning is due to start this autumn? Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 28 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Professor Broadhead: Yes, it is being piloted. almost as soon as the teacher enters the classroom or early years setting? Should we be rethinking the length of time that it takes to produce a properly Q31 Mr Chaytor: What is holding back the injection qualified teacher? of the kind of ideas you are talking about? You are Professor Wood: It is heading in that direction saying that the curriculum has now been decided and already. We already have the PGCE year plus the that is it; that is the end of it. There are no optional newly qualified teachers year. The masters in modules as part of it. teaching and learning in my institution is extending Professor Broadhead: I do not know how—I do not that training to three to five years, if students know if anyone else does—the ones who are piloting complete their dissertation. As with many things, it at the moment will report on it, but my therefore, it is already happening, patchily, in understanding is that it is being piloted in primary V V schools and secondary schools, and not specifically di erent places and in di erent ways. in early years settings. Sally Yates: Our evidence is that it is happening Sally Yates: It is primary schools in the north-west quite hugely. We have three and four-year and secondary schools only across the rest of the undergraduate programmes, and the PGCE itself country, but the big issue is that the MTL should builds on undergraduate studies. That is already meet the needs of the particular teacher and part of it. We always look at the degree relevance to therefore be context-driven. It has a broad primary or early years teaching. The fact that we framework, but then it is determined by the context. have embedded masters modules in both It would be able to be adapted to the early years undergraduate and postgraduate routes—and we context, and there are coaches in school. None the are starting to introduce them into employment- less it is a funding issue; it is TDA-funded for based routes—means that we are sending out teachers, just as we have existing funding for PPD in students with an expectation that they will continue schools. There are many of us who are developing studying. Often, they want to come back to where CPD, which can go across the sector. We have a they had their initial training to do that. They keep masters in professional inquiry being delivered, with professional profiles, throughout their programmes, some common modules, such as safeguarding where they have to take responsibility for their children. It is brilliant to bring people from diVerent professional development and work to targets, and disciplines together for that. I do not know whether we send them oV into the profession with targets to to say this, because it is almost shooting myself in the continue working on. We emphasise that this is foot, but the TDA funds teachers for that initial teacher education, and is called that because programme, but other early years practitioners it does not end. In universities, we very much model would have to pay full fees, so that makes it very our own continued professional development. We diYcult. I think that the other thing that has slightly are all engaged in research. Quite often, tutors on held things back has been putting so much of the teacher training courses are second career funding for CPD into schools. The school will then researchers. They have to have a lot of experience in decide on its priority, and it may not be early years, the field to be eVective tutors, whether in teacher whereas, when it is external bodies or the local education or other early years programmes. Often, authority, they have that power to bring people they are studying themselves for masters or together. I know that local authorities are able to do doctorates and continuing their research. That that much more with the work force, but that informs the learning and teaching with students. We funding is crucial to this. are very much modelling that continuum in their Professor Broadhead: There is another thing that we training anyway. are not quite certain about. Quite a number of Professor Broadhead: I also think that if we had it, students on our courses are doing masters-level we would retain more of our teachers. We would not modules. I teach one with PGCE students on playful lose them after those first five years. We would not learning and playful pedagogies. However, we are have such a great loss of teachers. not absolutely sure that those masters credits can be carried forward into a masters in teaching and learning by those students as they become qualified Q33 Chairman: Is it not something that you chaps teachers. Uncertainty remains, therefore, about the or—in the American sense—guys do in universities? nature of those relationships. Do you put people oV? You train them and they last Professor Wood: A real distinction needs to be made less than five years. between CPD that is always focused on delivering Professor Broadhead: They are out of our hands by the latest strategy, policy or whatever, and CPD that then. is genuinely focused on educational inquiry and Chairman: Come on. So you are washing your hands giving teachers and early years professionals of responsibility for the fact that 20% of our independent, free spaces in which to inquire into qualified teachers, within five years of leaving you, their own practice. That would not necessarily be leave the profession? filtered through the lens of the strategies. Professor Broadhead: We know that—there is longstanding research on this—in the first year after Q32 Mr Chaytor: Is it time to accept that teacher qualifying, a teacher’s main concern is whether they training is not a three-year BA process, but should can control their children. That is what they are most be seen as a five-year process with CPD built in focused on in the first year. They need help to make Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 29

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates that transition so that they feel able not only to Q35 Paul Holmes: Sally, a little while back you were control the children, but to teach them. During that talking about some people who apply for the early period, CPD would help them to make that years initiative as they think that they will not have transition from just control and behaviour to to do such diYcult maths. Are you looking forward recognising that if they make lessons interesting, to welcoming the Government’s new scheme on stimulating and engaging, they do not have to think unemployed bankers and six months’ training? about behaviour anymore. The children will engage Sally Yates: Yes, well, we read that with great with the learning process. CPD can help teachers to interest, but of course, that is not new for us. A lot make that transition, because it can help them to of the students that we already have on our courses think. Teachers who make that transition are the are career changers who have given up amazing ones who stay in the profession—and they will stay careers in the past. For some, it was because they for life. wanted a new challenge. My institution is in Birmingham, and we had the closure at Longbridge. We supported people coming in from all levels within Q34 Chairman: You do not have to convince the Longbridge. We already have a lot of experience of Committee about the value of CPD, but some of the welcoming people in, but we are concerned that we research that we have seen in the United States draw on the existing training programmes. There are suggests that masters degrees do not improve so many routes in, some of which are designed for teaching quality at all. Is that a worry about CPD or people who are in paid employment and cannot drop a good masters degree? everything and come. In the graduate teachers Di Chilvers: I think it depends what sort of CPD you programme, for example, people are paid as are talking about. It does not always have to be a unqualified teachers and learn while they are masters or whatever. Let us go back to what was said working. There are routes for people to come in. It at the beginning about aspirations and building worries me that a particular group of people might people’s confidence. One of the ongoing issues with get the suggestion of doing six months’ training, early years practice is that those who work in it are because that should apply to all those coming in. It not the most confident people. CPD keeps building is not just a question of if someone has a lot of on and developing their knowledge and thinking, knowledge, they can do it in a shorter term. It is and whether that is for three, four or five years, you about learning the culture of schools. There are a lot hope that those practitioners—even after 20 years— of transferable skills, but for the particular skills that are still thinking about and reflecting on their we have been talking about, such as understanding practice. I want to say two things about this. First, in how children learn and how to fit into the whole initial training—whatever that is—we need to ensure that students and people see that CPD is just a context of school, six months is not very long. normal part of their work. When they go out there, they will always be looking at their practice, Q36 Paul Holmes: Is it possible in six months? reflecting on it and perhaps doing informal CPD, as Sally Yates: It could be, but not for primaries, opposed to more formal stuV with the university. certainly. I would worry about secondary. We They would continue to do that. The other point is already have fast-track routes through and the about how people can build CPD into their work so variable assessment that is tailored to individual that it keeps them stimulated and raises the quality. needs in employment-based routes, for example, if Let me go back to the Every Child a Talker people are bringing in a lot of previous experience programme, which is very high on the agenda at the with schools. But I think we have to be very careful moment. That is about getting practitioners at all about those decisions. With most initiatives in levels to see that this is an action research process teaching, we would have a pilot going on somewhere and needs to be done to raise the quality of practice to see what the implications are. I would be very with those children. We keep saying to people, “You worried about just opening it up wholesale and then are researchers, you are in the process of research”, looking at the long-term eVects. Once someone has but they do not see it as that. It is practitioner trained for six months, they are in the profession for research, which I think makes a lot of impact. It 30 years, and we ought to make sure that we do not builds confidence, aspirations and knowledge, and just fill gaps at the moment and regret it later. people want to do more. The other helpful thing is when universities link up with the sorts of strategies that are taking place. In Yorkshire and Humber at Q37 Paul Holmes: The Universities Council for the the moment, I have links with SheYeld Hallam. Education of Teachers, in its submission, was quick When strategies come out such as Making a Big to point out—as it would—that teacher training DiVerence, the buddying initiative, the nought-to- through higher education institutions, which is 77% seven partnerships, or Every Child a Talker, you can of new entrants, gets much better ratings from see how the links are made with the university for Ofsted than employment-based or schools-based. giving that credit. What we then do—almost by Presumably, you agree with that, since you are all stealth—is get those practitioners to go back to the linked in with universities. But would that not mean university for further support and training. It is the that a six-month course would be watering down way it is done. We do not have to overtly say, “This the quality? is a masters and you need to do this next,” and so on. Professor Wood: What you would need to know Chairman: Paul has been very patient. He is the only and think about is the knowledge bases that you qualified teacher on the Committee. need for teaching, whether you are working with Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 30 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

five, 15 or 25-year-olds. Those knowledge bases are Sitting suspended for a Division in the House. quite extensive—I think that a lot of people do not On resuming— understand the nature of knowledge that you need: procedural knowledge about how to teach, pedagogical content knowledge about what to Q39 Paul Holmes: There seemed to be agreement teach when, what sequences and how to build that a six-month crash course was not the best way to train teachers, which I would certainly agree with. progression. If you are going to condense that into A lot of the written evidence that we have received, six months, what are you going to take out? What including from TACTYC and from the Early kinds of decisions are you going to make about Childhood Forum, suggested that one of the how you prioritise what those people need to problems with teacher training now is that you are know? I think that one of the many reasons why too preoccupied with training teachers to deliver graduates are of a higher quality than teacher programmes of work, to deliver Government education programmes in university is that they are requirements and to deliver what Ofsted want to see, often exposed to a research culture. Certainly, in the as opposed to educating them to be teachers. Would PGCE at Exeter, students are taught to critique the you agree with that? Pat is nodding her head, but nature of knowledge, policy frameworks and key then she would, because her organisation said it. messages. We have been comparing the two Professor Broadhead: Yes, I am nodding. The most primary reviews and looking at the outcomes from eVective teachers are those who can think, who can the Government-funded teaching and learning make decisions, who can reflect back on the day, and research programme. If you want good teachers, who can think about how things have gone, whether you have to invest in them, and that investment is they would want them to go like that again, and time as well as money. I am not convinced that ex- what they could do to change them. I think those are bankers would make morally or ethically good the sorts of teachers that we need to be producing in teachers—let alone their mathematical competence the future. Again, you need time to build those to teach. reflective capacities in any individual—teachers are no diVerent—and time to give people the opportunity to reflect on what they are actually Q38 Chairman: Not all bankers are bad, are they? doing in the classroom, the work that they are doing Professor Wood: Some bankers are clearly very bad. with children, and the insights and understandings Professor Broadhead: I was just thinking about your that they are getting from their work in the typical PGCE course, which in actual fact, is about classroom. I think if we could move on teacher 10 months overall. Again and again, the students say education—you will notice we use that term, and I to us, “It is not long enough. I barely feel prepared. know we said in the TACTYC submission that we I can manage the class and organise it. I know what prefer the term “teacher education” to “teacher I am doing and I have passed the course. But I barely training”—you would be actually taking the whole feel prepared.” The more you learn, the more you person and teaching them to think. One of the realise how little you know about teaching and concerns I have—again I think this is part of the learning. I think that when you get to the point, as a culture, understandably, although I feel we need to practitioner, that you do not know as much as you move away from it—is the notion that you can put think you do, you have the real basis for ongoing everything a teacher needs to learn on a DVD and professional development. One of the best courses show it to them, and then they will understand the nature of teaching and learning from watching it. that I have ever taught on was when I was at Leeds There is a real danger that we put some very bad university. We had the two-year articled teachers practice on to those DVDs and actually give very scheme for early years teachers, which the bad exemplars to teachers, and then seem to be Government funded for two-year periods. In the endorsing the view that this is good practice when, first year of that scheme, the students did a in actual fact, it is quite questionable. I think this is “traditional” PGCE course, and in the second year, also about creating a climate and an opportunity they developed a subject specialism and leadership that links back to CPD, in which teachers do not within that specialism, within the early years. The have complete freedom. I am not saying, “Do away subject could be playing, if they wanted it to be. Liz with the National Curriculum,” or, “Do not oVer a was talking earlier about the roles and curriculum guidance in terms of subject knowledge responsibilities that people go on to from early years. and what children might learn,” but I think we have I see those, predominantly women—there were some to give back the autonomy and the trust we were men on the course—in high-flying courses and in talking about earlier for teachers to make informed places now, influencing, I am glad to see, the future decisions, in conjunction with their colleagues, and of early years education, flying the flag and to be accountable for those decisions. I am talking protecting and nurturing what we know and not about teachers not being accountable, but about understand about the importance of those years and them being able to think and reflect on what might all those roles. So I cannot see anything in favour of be good for children at a particular point in time. I a six-month route into teaching. I think that it would do not think we want to go back to the days when disadvantage those candidates quite considerably. teachers fell out of bed in the morning and thought, Chairman: We have to go and vote. We will come “What shall we do today?”, although that might be back for the last 10 minutes of the session. We will be a good thing every now and again—some creative back as quickly as we are able. thinking might come out of it. I did a research Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 31

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates project with teachers many years ago in which I Q40 Paul Holmes: A lot of the written evidence that asked them to reflect on when they thought their we have received is rather more pessimistic than that. practice was good. Many of the examples that they When we were doing the national curriculum inquiry gave me—I have still got them—were the days when last year, I remember a very high-flying and able 29- they listened to what the children were interested in year-old deputy head sitting in exactly the seat you and built something around those interests. They felt are in saying, “But how would we know what to do that they had the opportunity to do that for a whole if the National Curriculum didn’t tell us?” That day if they wanted to, or even a whole week. I think appalled me, as a teacher from long ago. one of the things that prevented teachers from Sally Yates: There is a parallel there. When I started thinking outside the box and thinking creatively was teaching in the ’70s, I was given a set of books. If I the notion that we have fixed lessons or sequences of had what was then year 1—first year juniors—I had lessons that we must follow, regardless of anything book one and my plan was to do the next page. That else. I think what will make the biggest diVerence for was what was going on in my first school, but my teachers is going back to good early years practice, training had led me to challenge things, so we broke listening to what children are interested in and the out of that. Perhaps it was very empowered and knowledge and experience that children bring with informed training—I think that can be an excuse. them, and letting that find a place in the classroom. Many resources are produced to support the That should not drive the whole of the day and all primary strategy, for example. Although that is very learning, but it needs to be able to find a place in the good, there are shelves of them and a teacher can classroom. hide behind that. One requirement we have of Paul Holmes: Any others on this? students is to go beyond that and break out of it. Sally Yates: I think that we could be at risk of just They must interpret and plan for themselves to given producing people who have been straitjacketed by objectives, but in a way that is relevant to the the standards and where we have just ticked boxes, particular children they are teaching. You have to but one of the strengths of university-based training work hard at that. They are staying in teaching is that we do not do that, and that is just as not all because they are the ones supporting our current schools are plodding through a given curriculum, students and getting excited about it. but are finding creative ways of interpreting it. Our job is ensuring that all of those training to teach understand the current requirements at the point at Q41 Paul Holmes: Again, a lot of the written which they train for what has to be done in the evidence we have received has suggested that people classroom. However, we contextualise that—we are quite unhappy with the variability of the show them something bigger. We also show them a monitoring and support that trainee teachers get whole range of experience. If a group of 20 students when they are in school. Do you all think that that goes out into school and then comes back, they all is a problem or not? have the same curriculum document, but they have Chairman: Do you mean monitoring or mentoring? seen it interpreted in 30 slightly diVerent ways. There Paul Holmes: Mentoring from support teachers. is a richness in that, and in reflecting on the research Sally Yates: Mentoring would be part of that has informed it as well. They are developing as monitoring. critically reflective by seeing those diVerences. They Chairman: Okay. are required to submit reflections and to do their own Sally Yates: I think it depends on how well your inquiry-based learning on the next placement. Many school partnership is developed. In Exeter, we have of us build in weeks where they all do something an Exeter model of teaching that is used in the school diVerent—a week where they are not assessed but of education and all our partner schools. There is a they are working against their standards, perhaps shared theoretical framework of understanding of engaging in some innovative practice in school. For how teachers learn to teach and learn to become example, in my institution, we have inclusion week, teachers. A lot of training on using that model goes where the whole school is zipped up by the teachers on with the mentors and the university visiting trying something diVerent with the students. The tutors. The students use it too, so there is shared students are doing something really exciting and understanding. The extent to which you work with they all say, “I’m going to teach very diVerently in your partner schools is important. It must truly be a my next placement”—or first job, or whatever— partnership and not just the university saying, “This “because of what I have done there.” I think that is what we want you to do.” I guess that, like there is some very creative thinking going on in anything else, that is quite variable across schools, which relates to the point that Barry made institutions. That would also be reflected in the earlier about their not staying in teaching, because Ofsted ratings for departments. they are when they have learned like that. If we Paul Holmes: Any diVerent views? induct them just into what the current policy is, that Sally Yates: We work very hard on educating can lead to disaVection when it changes suddenly. mentors. In the West Midlands, all the institutions We talked about the Rose review on early reading. A providing teacher education recognise each other’s few years ago, they were learning something slightly mentor training, so there is consistency across the diVerent. I feel that the teachers we are producing are region. If a school has a student from any of the ready to reflect on new policies and to implement institutions, we will recognise the training they have them in a very well-informed way. It is possible to had. This is one of the hardest elements of quality do that. assurance for us. We have tight quality assurance Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 32 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates processes for what we deliver in the university, but Q43 Paul Holmes: Is that always balanced against a inevitably, if you have 150 students in the placement in a school? Forgive my ignorance, but programme going out to diVerent schools, it is very when I did a PGCE 30 years ago, we did two main hard to ensure consistency. There is triangulation placements, as well as a couple of short visits to because the student will have support from a mentor other places. in school and from a university tutor who visits Professor Wood: Students have to cover two key them. The tutor is there to support the student and stages, so they have a three-to-five placement and a the teacher in school so that there is constant five-to-seven placement. support and monitoring. There is moderating across Sally Yates: And they have to go into at least two that with additional people going out. There should schools. On a PGCE, it would be diYcult to find the be much greater consistency there. As UCET said in time to have a lot of additional time in a school its written evidence to the Committee, the big issue setting because of that requirement. Those is that although those training teachers have a requirements do bind us, but they ensure quality. On requirement to place them in school for a minimum undergraduate initial teacher training, there is number of weeks, schools do not have a requirement greater flexibility and often you can fit in more than to take students. I think that it is amazing that they the minimum number of weeks in school, so you can do, particularly as their standards are being watched fit in a placement that is additional to those weeks— so hard. Even the best of our students may not and perhaps a range over the three or four years of achieve as much with a class as an experienced the programme. That is a particular strength, I teacher. But that does mean that we could have think. outstanding schools that are really good at supporting students saying, “We are not having Q44 Paul Holmes: BEd courses are in a slow but students this year”, because of other things going on. Y steady decline; the number of teachers that go on That makes the training of teachers very di cult. them and are produced by them is reducing. Is there still a place for the BEd? Should it be finished or is it more suitable for training people in early years, Q42 Paul Holmes: With early years teaching, one of because the courses are longer and they look more at the usual things for teacher training is that some child psychology and child development? trainee teachers go into non-school settings. What Sally Yates: There are not many courses called a percentage do so, and is that a satisfactory way of BEd; they are often BAs or BScs with QTS, and there training people to be teachers? are very many of them. They are not in decline in Professor Broadhead: If I understand it correctly, at terms of wearing away, but the TDA has allocated the moment the requirements are that there has to be fewer numbers over the years to undergraduate a trained teacher on the premises in order to training. It used to be that most of those entering supervise students in their placement if it a non- primary and early years education came through the education setting. If it is something other than a undergraduate route. Now, it is about 50:50 going school, there still has to be a trained teacher through the PGCE or the undergraduate route. The Y overseeing it. In a sense, that is a di culty to be undergraduate routes are important as a way into overcome. What we can allow our students to do, primary and early years teaching. They produce and what many universities do, is to let them have teachers who are committed to going into teaching. experience in settings other than schools. It will not They attract a lot of people who are the first in their necessarily be part of their assessed placement family in higher education and, at the moment, experience, but it will be part of their overall entering a three or four-year programme where you portfolio of experience, and they will be know that your employment at the end is very demonstrating achievement of quite a number of the attractive. We can fit in a great deal more in that standards by being able to be in that place. It also period of education; they will have far more of the gives them a chance to think much more realistically wider range of subjects in the curriculum. They have about what inter-professional relationships might a specialism within it—not all of them, particularly be, and with whom teachers might have inter- the three-year programmes—but many have a professional relationships. For some students, it can specialism. That is important for developing quality also open their eyes to the quality of the experience within schools and championing subjects, even if it children might be getting in a voluntary or private goes to subject areas. Having someone who is a real sector setting; they do come with preconceptions and expert in the school is vital. A postgraduate could stereotyped views about what children’s experiences have a first-class honours degree in mediaeval might be in settings outside school, because of their history but not come out as a literacy expert in a lack of experience. As far as I am aware, they cannot school, whereas someone on a four-year programme at the moment have an assessed placement in those would perhaps come out as someone able to take a out-of-school settings unless there is a teacher lead—for example, in early reading. They play a around to supervise their progress and development vital role and are very valued. We have some high- against the standards. I am sure that someone will calibre entrants. The points scores that you see in correct me if I am wrong. prospectuses belie the reality of the levels coming in, Professor Wood: That is right. We only place because the average score is about 280 points, which students in settings where there is a qualified teacher. often compares well with other programmes. We In fact, we only use maintained settings. have some very high-quality outcomes too. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Q45 Paul Holmes: So you are saying that the explicitly said that they would close down some criticism that we have in some of the written stuV— courses in some universities. You do not have any of that they are typically D or E entry requirements— those problems in the education sector? is not what really happens? Di Chilvers: In terms of the early childhood studies Sally Yates: But they are not only appointed on their degrees, they are regulated by QAA inspections, not A-level scores. We are looking for such a range of Ofsted. Just to go back, when I was talking about qualities. Most providers of initial teacher education aspirations and building people’s confidence and so are setting high expectations at interview— on, sometimes some of those people come into early presentations, extensive previous experience in childhood studies degrees with lower grades of A- schools. It is a whole raft of things that we are level and so on, or maybe no A-levels at all. They looking at. You could have someone with four A*s might come into those early childhood studies at A-level who is not going to make a good teacher degrees with a diploma in nursery nursing or if they do not have the other qualities. Usually, if something like that, but in actual fact when you have someone was coming in with lower grades, it may be given them the chance to have a go, sometimes they that they had extensive prior experience—they may are the ones who come out at the end with absolutely have been a teaching assistant, with a great deal of glowing degrees—they have really shone and have experience, or perhaps a mature entrant, who has been given that confidence. To give you an example, worked hard to get there and has a great deal of what happened when I taught the early childhood potential. We track all entrants and are gathering studies degree for many years was that they would data all the time on which qualifications are leading come in at 18—mainly young women, some men— to high-quality outcomes with our trainees, so that again not very confident. You would talk to them in we are refining that all the time. However, there is a a lecture and try to get them to engage in the lot of competition for places, so we can set those discussion, which was really diYcult. It was almost parameters quite high. like they would just sit there, “Tell me what I’ve got Professor Wood: What we have also seen in the past to think and tell me what to do.” Throughout that few years is the huge growth of undergraduate three or four years, you had to get them to start programmes in early childhood studies, childhood thinking for themselves, being more confident, studies, and childhood and youth studies. All those questioning things, having a dialogue and reflecting. programmes take a multi-theoretical, multi- Those things turn them into responsive, reflective disciplinary focus, so you might have people practitioners. Once you started to do that, along tracking out into teaching, social work, youth work with all the other stuV that you were delivering, you or the Prison Service—all kinds of diVerent had students coming out at the end. I have seen them professions. I wonder whether that is a much and the delight that I have now in my job is going stronger future direction, bringing disciplines and back into local authorities to look at how well they theoretical knowledge together at undergraduate are coping with the early years agenda. I go in and level, as a preparation for teaching. visit these schools or children’s centres, and there are Chairman: Those courses have an even lower students who I had and saw coming in to study who qualification. were not very confident and at quite a low level who Professor Wood: No, not all of them. were leading the foundation stage unit and leading on practice. Q46 Chairman: We have just had a seminar on the Chairman: I am sure that is true. Paul, you have a training of social workers and one of the complaints couple more quick ones. from your exact opposites on the social work side— in the educating of social workers—was that they Q48 Paul Holmes: Two questions: just to round oV were really the bottom of the pile, the lowest-quality what you have just been saying, is the future for applicants for their courses. You get much better BEds that they carry on or will they be replaced by quality? the BA in early childhood studies followed by a Professor Wood: If you look at some of the early PGCE? Which is the best route? childhood studies programmes, they are getting Chairman: I ask you to answer briefly because we are quite high entry applicants now. running out of time. Chairman: So it is like teacher training; it is very Sally Yates: I think that there is room for both. They V di erential, with very poor courses in some are two diVerent routes in, and I think that there are universities and very good ones in others. strengths in both. It would be a great loss to lose one Professor Wood: There is always wide variability or the other. across the sector. Di Chilvers: It would be interesting to map the Chairman: So there is wide variability in your sector, courses across to see what all the courses oVer and in education. map them across to the big agenda about early years Professor Wood: No, I think the variability is not as from nought to five, looking at youth and family wide since we have had tighter Government control services, looking at all the programmes, at what the over standards, competencies and Ofsted data are telling us about what children need in terms inspections. of progress and so on, looking at how they meet the needs of parents and families, how they work in the Q47 Chairman: But the social work professionals— communities and how they map across to working exactly your opposite number, from the universities, with other professionals and so on, and see if the said it—have wide variability. Some almost courses meet the needs. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

Ev 34 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates

Q49 Paul Holmes: Finally, the majority now go have to go into the Foundation Stage and Key Stage through the PGCE route. You have already rejected 1, and primary trainees have to go into Key Stage 1 six-month crash courses for redundant bankers. Is and Key Stage 2. At the moment, we can manage it. the one-year PGCE—10 months in practice—the A school will balance things and have people at correct length or does it need to be longer? Should diVerent points in the year. The more school-based there be credit accumulation for the PGCE through training there is that ties up a whole class for a whole continuous professional development that builds to year, the more pressure there will be on places. The an MA while you are working? Should it be a two- sheer logistics of that need to be looked at, quite year PGCE? What would you do for the future if you apart from anything else. The other interesting thing could write a new route? about Teach First is the particular philosophy of it. Professor Wood: I would keep the one-year PGCE, RE is a subject that has not recruited well in Teach but it would be one year plus three years of M-level First. If you are high-flying and ambitious in the RE CPD working towards masters accreditation. Then world, perhaps you aspire to be an Archbishop or a you could project beyond that and perhaps make the Pope, rather than a teacher. I would be very EdD—the doctorate in education—a qualification interested to see how the philosophy of Teach First for management leadership, so you could look and early years would mesh. beyond M-level towards D-level. Q53 Mr Chaytor: My other question is about Q50 Paul Holmes: So, would the three-year CPD be diversity and the work force. Correct me if I am a compulsory part of the PGCE, eVectively, or wrong, but did we say earlier that there is no national would it be optional to go to an MA standard? register of employees in the early years sector? The Professor Wood: I think that I would like to see it TDA knows how many teachers there are, of what being compulsory so it became an M-level kind and where they are, but with regard to the wider profession. early years work force, there is no national record of how many staV there are, what their qualifications are, where they are working and who they are. Is Q51 Paul Holmes: How would you overcome the that— issue that you were talking about and they were Di Chilvers: Do you mean across the sector? talking about in Canada—about the trouble with Mr Chaytor: Across the sector, yes, in all early years continuous professional development being that the settings. There is no mechanism for gathering this schools all do their own thing and do not take any information about the work force profile. notice of what the universities think they should be Di Chilvers: Local authorities should be doing? monitoring— Professor Wood: Then you would ensure that you had a model that retained the influence of good higher education institutions. Q54 Mr Chaytor: But is there a national record or is Professor Broadhead: I was very taken with the the only way of finding out by aggregating the articled teacher scheme, but I think that it would individual local authorities— need to be developed. I think that the second year of Di Chilvers: Local authorities would be able to tell that scheme could be work at masters level for you what their— candidates taking that course. There are cost implications, but what comes out at the other end is Do they have a record of private a work force that we would retain. They would go on Q55 Mr Chaytor: and voluntary sector providers as well? to do EdDs or PhDs and see themselves as life- Di Chilvers: Yes, they will do. long learners. Chairman: My colleagues have been very patient, but David wants a quick go. Q56 Mr Chaytor: What is the pattern of recruitment there? Do we see the same problems over diversity in early years as we would find in primary schools— Q52 Mr Chaytor: I have two questions really. First, that is, a distinct absence of men and under- there is some suggestion that the Teach First scheme representation of minority ethnic groups? Is that will be extended to the early years phase. Is there any the same? objection to that? Is that generally a good idea? Di Chilvers: To a certain extent, yes. Sally Yates: Teach First is based on the graduate teacher programme model of one year learning in a school and, in fact, is managed by university Q57 Mr Chaytor: What is the solution? providers of teacher education in bids across the Di Chilvers: That is a diYcult one. country. On the one hand, the employment base Sally Yates: There are things we can do ourselves. route is a useful route in, and the Teach First Men can feel very isolated because there are fewer of philosophy of getting high-calibre people in is good, them. Some very good research has been done. Janet but we are doing that anyway. My concern with Moore’s research raised a number of issues—for moving towards too much school-based training is example, the use of near-peer tutoring, whereby that that takes up a placement for a year, and one of recently qualified male teachers would support those the problems we have in quality early years coming in. That is very helpful and has helped some programmes is the pressure on Key Stage 1 of us develop policies about placements—for placements in schools, because early years trainees example, ensuring that a male student would be Processed: 03-02-2010 18:31:54 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG1

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23 March 2009 Professor Pat Broadhead, Di Chilvers, Professor Elizabeth Wood and Sally Yates placed in a school with another male. Some schools although they get promoted very quickly out of the do not do that and they can feel very isolated. There classroom, but we are operating in quite a restricted are those issues and obviously there are the issues of context at the moment. recruiting and targeting our recruitment, but there Chairman: This has been a very good session for us. are some things that it is beyond our ability to I was very rude earlier when I said my colleagues had address. One of those is the current context in the been patient, coming back after the Division. You society in which we are operating. We sometimes lose have also been very patient, especially as you did not male applicants or male trainees because, they say, quite realise where we were going when we ran out of they go for a drink with their friends and say they are the room. My apologies for that, but it has been an training to be a primary school teacher and people extremely good session. We have only just started on will say, “Aren’t you afraid that people will think this inquiry. Will you remain in touch with us. When you’re a paedophile?” We are operating in a very you think of things that we did not ask you, or that particular context. We have been losing the number you wanted to say but did not have a chance to say, of males coming where we had been increasing the will you communicate with us. If you think there are number. We can do an awful lot to try to attract particular things we should look at or places we males in and keep them once we have them in, should visit, will you suggest them. Thank you. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [SE] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Ev 36 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Monday 20 April 2009

Members present: Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman)

Mr David Chaytor Mr Andrew Pelling Mr John Heppell Mr Edward Timpson Paul Holmes Derek Twigg Fiona Mactaggart

Memorandum submitted by the General Teaching Council for England Executive Summary — Good quality teaching can, and should, be defined through its connection with good quality learning. However, the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) questions the extent to which there are valid and robust means of ascertaining the quality of teaching in use both for improvement and accountability. — The GTC is concerned that the quality and characteristics of entrants to the profession must align to the challenges that they face now and in the future. Key to this is recruiting and importantly retaining those who are most likely to be eVective teachers. — The GTC sets out the expected norms of teacher practice and professionalism in its code of conduct and practice to, help teachers understand what is expected, and guide their everyday judgements. — The diversification of routes into teaching has increased recruitment and supported an increasingly diverse workforce. However, evaluation of routes is problematic as quality assurance is of providers and not programmes. Importantly investment in retention now needs to be balanced with that in recruitment. Despite increasing diversity there are still significant issues around the underrepresentation of disabled people within the teaching workforce. — The GTC has concerns about the lack of continuity and coherence between initial teacher education (ITE), induction and early career professional expertise. The GTC would welcome a reconsideration of the structure, organisation, curriculum and time available for initial teacher training and induction in light of the rapidly changing context in which teachers work and intends to explore this through its own work. — Robust evidence shows that engaging in eVective continuing professional development (CPD) is critical to improving teaching quality and learning experiences and outcomes for children and young people. While there is considerable diversity in the types of provision available, evidence shows that CPD which is personalised, relevant, sustained and supported is most likely to be eVective. — An enquiry-led model that links teacher learning directly with pupil learning has been shown to be eVective and this is exemplified by the GTC’s Teacher Learning Academy (TLA). The TLA is the first national scheme to structure, verify and recognise the professional learning that takes place in teachers’ classrooms. The TLA has been shown to have a positive impact on teacher and pupil learning, and school improvement. — Central to eVective CPD is identifying and meeting individual teacher learning and development needs. Consideration needs to be given to how the system as a whole, including performance management, INSET days and local provision, is functioning to address learning needs given the ever changing context. Evidence testifies to the power of well-informed and structured coaching. The GTC proposes a greater focus be given to building capacity to deliver enquiry-led learning and to develop coaching and mentoring in schools. — A definition of responsibility and entitlement has still not been resolved and this needs action. This is particularly important given that access to appropriate professional education and development is still problematic for many teachers. — The GTC advocates that both initial teacher training (ITT) and CPD should address teacher learning needs in relation to special education needs (SEN) and promoting equality if teachers are to meet the complex learning needs of all children and young people.

Introduction 1. The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) is the independent professional body for teaching. Its main duties are to regulate the teaching profession and to advise the Secretary of State and others on a range of issues that concern teaching and learning. The Council acts in the public interest to contribute to raising standards of teaching and learning. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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2. The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching and the ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. 3. There has been considerable eVort and investment over the last ten years to identify what constitutes good quality teaching not least the significant body of findings generated by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP).1 From this, ten principles of eVective teaching and learning were drawn. The GTC itself has worked over the last two years with TLRP and the late Professor Donald MacIntyre to synthesise into accessible form some of the key considerations for contemporary pedagogy. This and other evidence is further discussed in Appendix 1. 4. The Professional Standards Framework for Teaching has a key role in establishing the broad descriptors of teaching at diVerent levels of accomplishment to guide the maintenance and development of practice. However, these descriptors do not give insights into the full range of approaches and their eVects and there is a significant task ahead to create a research-engaged profession which can draw upon validated and warranted approaches and understand not just how but why to apply or adapt them. 5. Good quality teaching can, and should, be defined through its connection with good quality learning, which includes key contributors to the learning process (for example motivation or active engagement) as well as learning outcomes. The extent to which there are valid and robust means of ascertaining the quality of teaching in use for the purpose of improving and accounting for quality at the national level is questionable, and at the institutional level is variable.

Provisional and full registration with the GTC 6. As the body which registers teachers and awards Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) the GTC has a strong interest in those who are training to teach. Since 2008 the GTC has provisionally registered individuals as they commence initial teacher education (ITE). 7. Provisional registration ensures that all those entering ITE are suitable to teach, having been assessed against and met the initial teacher training (ITT) course requirements, and completed a suitability assessment.2 8. Provisional registration brings anyone training to be a teacher into the same regulatory framework, with regard to conduct, as that currently applying to qualified teachers working in the maintained sector. This means that the GTC Code of Conduct and Practice applies. 9. The GTC is currently updating its Code of Conduct and Practice to reflect the changing context of teaching and teacher professionalism. The Code sets out the expected norms of teacher practice and professionalism to help teachers understand what is expected and guide their everyday judgements. It sets out why teachers teach, the behaviours that follow, and places teachers at the heart of the wider well-being of children. 10. Many of the values and practices set out in the Code are already evident in classrooms around the country. The purpose of the Code is to set down some clear statements about teacher professionalism which are shared by and apply to all teachers, regardless of subject, phase, role, experience and context.

Characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers 11. The GTC is concerned that the quality and characteristics of entrants to the profession must align to the challenges that they face now and in the future. Key to this is recruiting those who are most likely to be eVective teachers into the profession. 12. McKinsey3 found that a successful teacher trainee selection system is one that is capable of identifying candidates who have: — a high overall level of literacy and numeracy; — strong interpersonal and communication skills; — a willingness to learn; and — the motivation to teach. 13. Other research4 suggests that altruistic or intrinsic motives on entering the profession function as important factors in ensuring long-term retention.

1 http://www.tlrp.org/ 2 The suitability assessment covers conduct which could impact on an individual’s suitability to register and includes: — Any action by the Secretary of State in relation to working with children or other misconduct; — Criminal oVending, including cases pending, and including cautions, reprimands and other disposals; — Disciplinary action by any professional or regulatory body, taken or pending; — Employer disciplinary action, taken or pending; — Any other information which might bear upon suitability to register. 3 McKinsey: How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. 2007 4 Nieto, S. (2003) What keeps teachers going? NY: Teachers College Press Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Ev 38 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Are the Current Range of Routes into Teaching Effective? 14. England has diversiﬁed its recruitment process more than any other country (McKinsey, 2007). The Becoming a Teacher report5 looked at the issues that aVect trainees’ choice of ITE route and more information about its ﬁndings is contained in Appendix 2. While the diversity of routes into teaching along with a greater emphasis on school-based training has increased recruitment and supported an increasingly diverse workforce, there are some concerns about the diVerent patterns of provision. This includes the potential lack of support to trainees undertaking school based schemes, and the limited amount of time available to trainees taking the PGCE course. For further information see Appendix 2 for details of the Becoming a Teacher research. However, this is diYcult to evaluate as quality assurance is of providers and not programmes. The attractiveness of the profession as a whole as well as the range of routes into the profession need consideration. 15. The strong emphasis on recruitment over the last six years needs to be balanced with investment in retention, including the importance of access to appropriate specialist and subject expertise, for example, when following an employment route into teaching.

Improving the Diversity of the Teaching Profession 16. The profile of those entering teacher training now shows some marked diVerences compared to those entering in 1997. Applicants come from increasingly diverse backgrounds with an increase in entrants from black and minority ethnic groups. Applicants often come with additional educational and work experience. The age of entry to ITT shows greater variation, with the average age currently being around 29 to 30. 17. However, despite work to improve diversity there are significant issues around the underrepresentation of disabled people within the teaching profession. 18. The GTC believes that an individual’s suitability to teach should be determined by their ability to meet the conduct and competence standards, to support children and young people’s learning and achievement, alongside appropriate background checks. Judgements about health or disability should not be an obstacle; rather, reasonable adjustments need to be made that support disabled people to enter and thrive in teaching. 19. Entry to and the regulation of the profession should be carried out in line with the disability equality duty requiring public bodies to be proactive in the promotion of disability equality, and ensure equal treatment for those with a disability. Disabled trainees need access to suitable school placements where reasonable adjustment is made to meet their needs. 20. The GTC-hosted Disabled Teacher Taskforce6 has concerns about the lack of data on disability within the teaching workforce particularly as the system does not encourage an individual with a disability to declare it. 21. The GTC has strong concerns that the Fitness to Teach standard, and how it is applied, may deter disabled applicants. The GTC supports the Disability Rights Commission’s 2007 report7 which found that fitness standards “lead to discrimination; and they deter and exclude disabled people from entry and being retained. We therefore recommend that they are revoked.” 22. The GTC wishes to see an impact analysis carried out on how Fitness to Teach is applied, and if discriminatory, serious consideration should be given to its repeal.

Preparation for Teaching, including Working with Pupils with Special Educational Needs 23. The knowledge and skills required by teachers is both greater in quantity and diVerent in quality from those previously required as the agenda for a “new” professionalism is implemented. Trainees entering the workforce need to be able to work within the Every Child Matters agenda, including working with other professionals, to meet the often complex learning needs of individual children including those with special educational needs. 24. Newly Qualiﬁed Teachers (NQTs) are expected to continue to develop their expertise, learning more about children and young people, curriculum and assessment in the subject and specialist areas in which they teach. They are also expected to establish and develop inter—and intra-professional relationships and work eVectively with parents and the wider community. 25. The GTC has some concerns that ITE is not equipping teachers to deal with the constant changes in the system or the need to manage relationships within schools and the community. Greater consideration also needs to be given to supporting trainees during ITE to understand and develop the skills needed for research-informed practice in order to sustain continuing improvement in practice.

5 Hobson & Malderez (Eds), Kerr, Tracey, Pell, Tomlinson & Roper. (2005) Becoming a Teacher: Student Teachers’ Motives and Preconceptions, and Early School-based Experiences During Initial Teacher Training. England: University of Nottingham. 6 The GTC set up the Disabled Teacher Taskforce in 2004 to highlight the issues that individuals with disabilities face when applying to and entering the profession, to raise awareness of current policies and practices that cause diYculties for disabled students to access teacher training, and to encourage national organisations to act on removing barriers and promoting opportunities for disabled people entering the teaching profession. 7 Disability Rights Commission Formal Investigation 2007 into the impact of health standards across nursing, teaching and social work, including Fitness to Teach, on entry to and retention in the teaching profession. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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26. Recent research8 found that competence standards are useful, but do not account for the complexities of becoming a teacher and are not suYcient alone. The revised GTC Code of Conduct and Practice goes some way towards addressing these concerns, in that it is a positive statement about the values and practices that lie at the heart of teaching and what it means to be a teacher. The GTC believes serious consideration needs to be given to how ITE attends to personalised need and context. 27. The Committee may wish to consider whether it is still possible to develop a knowledge of pedagogy, curriculum, specialist or subject area and the skills to teach eVectively across a wide age range within the current time available for preparation, particularly in post-graduate and/or in employment-based training programmes. The development of more flexible approaches to professional training and education as part of an extended ITT, induction and early professional development (EPD) oVer, along the lines of the “pupil” within law, are possible options that might be explored. 28. A related ongoing concern for the GTC is the lack of continuity and coherence between ITE, induction and early career professional development to ensure ongoing development of professional expertise. 29. The GTC would welcome a reconsideration of the structure, organisation, curriculum and time available for ITT and induction in the light of the rapidly changing policy context and wider workforce agenda within education and children’s services, and intends to explore this through its own work. 30. In March 2008, the GTC advised the Secretary of State,9 based on research findings, that all teacher trainees should experience a placement in specialist and/or mainstream schools where they are supported by those with specialist expertise to teach children with a range of special education needs (SEN), as part of their training, irrespective of their entry route into teaching. 31. The inclusion of detailed information on particular types of common special educational needs is relevant in ITT, but better outcomes for trainees’ developing practice can be achieved when knowledge and associated skills for SEN are developed in context. Opportunities for developing specific knowledge and skills are very limited within a one year programme of ITT. 32. In its advice, the GTC recommended that timely access to, and participation in, professional education and development, including knowledge and pedagogy, is needed to equip teachers to meet the needs of children and young people with a wide variety of SEN in their classrooms. Key to this is securing supply of expertise to support teacher development. 33. In May 2008, the GTC, in advice to the Secretary of State10 found that the professional education and development teachers receive on promoting equality and tackling inequalities is critical but often lacking in terms of access, participation and content. 34. The GTC recommended that: — regardless of ITE route, all trainees have a significant input on promoting race equality and diversity and that this should be mainstreamed throughout all aspects of ITT; — all teachers, through their school or employer, have access to and undertake appropriate training and development on promoting race equality and meeting the legislative requirement, and that this should be refreshed regularly throughout a teachers’ career; and — training and development for leadership and Head Teacher roles emphasises a commitment to promoting race equality. 35. These recommendations apply equally to the promotion of gender and disability equality and to ensuring that schools meet the gender and disability equality duties.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Provision for New Teachers,Experienced Teachers and Head Teachers 36. There is robust evidence that engaging in eVective CPD is critical to improving teaching quality11 and that investing in eVective teacher learning not only improves the quality of teaching, but has an impact on the achievement of children and young people, as well as on teachers’ colleagues and peers (EPPI). 37. Particular approaches to CPD are more likely to be eVective and result in changes in teaching that positively impact on the learning, behaviour and achievement of all children and young people. Successive systematic reviews (EPPI) of research conducted over several years describe the characteristics of eVective approaches to CPD as: — having a clear focus on pupil learning; — involving teachers in identifying their needs;

8 McNally, J, Boreham, N, Cope, P, Stronach, I. (2007) Enhanced Competence-Based Learning in Early Professional Development. ESRC. 9 EVective Professional Education and Development for Teachers of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs. (2008) Advice to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. General Teaching Council for England. 10 Better support for schools to implement the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 in schools. (2008) Advice from the General Teaching Council for England. 11 Bolam, R, Weindling, D. (2006) Synthesis of research and evaluation projects concerned with capacity building through teachers’ professional development, General Teaching Council for England. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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— using coaching and mentoring; — including observation, feedback and collaborative working; — providing opportunities for practice, research and reﬂective practice; and — modelling preferred practice (eg active learning), both in classrooms and in adult learning situations. 38. The GTC has proposed12 that a personalised approach should be taken to the identiﬁcation of all teachers’ learning and development needs and that eVective, relevant, sustained and supported participation needs to be assured.

GTC Teacher Learning Academy (TLA) 39. There is considerable diversity in the types and quality of CPD provision available, but from the evidence it is known that an enquiry-led model that links teacher learning directly with pupil learning can be eVective. 40. The GTC’s Teacher Learning Academy (TLA) exemplifies an eVective enquiry-led model of CPD and has its foundation in evidence from systematic reviews of the research base. The TLA is the first national scheme to structure and recognise practice-based professional learning; it includes quality assured verification based on criteria which require a teacher to use relevant research, be supported and challenged by a coach and disseminate their learning. The TLA is growing rapidly with 15,000 teachers enrolled to date. A description of the TLA is attached at Appendix 3.

Coaching and Mentoring for Teachers 41. In a report for the GTC, Cordingley noted that schools with successful CPD “provide opportunities for staV to collaborate and to be proactive about their own learning” and successive research and evaluation studies testify to the power of well-informed and structured coaching. 42. The GTC ﬁnds that there is a good level of support and mentoring for NQTs during their ﬁrst year of teaching, but this needs to continue beyond the induction year. The TLA (and Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) pilot) is helping to drive coaching capacity and capability. However, further systematic investment is needed nationally.

Time well spent—INSET days? 43. Evidence gathered through the GTC Connect Network suggests that the ﬁve INSET days are often perceived as being dominated by disseminating national priorities to the exclusion of institutional or individual issues. The GTC proposes that consideration needs to be given to how these days are being used, not least for their capacity to deliver enquiry-led learning and change for schools and to develop coaching and mentoring in schools. Furthermore, there needs to be a realistic assessment of whether these days alone can deliver the capacity for individual development that is needed to underpin modern teaching.

Access to Professional Learning and Development 44. The GTC Survey of Teachers (2007)13 found that just under one-third of teachers felt that their professional development needs had been fully met over the past twelve months, just over half felt that their needs had been met to some extent, and 17% felt their needs had not been met. 45. When asked why their needs were not being met, many felt that they were not oVered the opportunity to attend a CPD session, there was a lack of funding, or a shortage of time to attend. 46. Clearly, access to professional learning is still problematic for many teachers. This is particularly so for supply teachers, who in both 2006 and 2007 said that their needs had not been met. To move this issue on, the GTC has commissioned research to consider how the professional development of supply teachers can be better supported and identify approaches to improve access to and participation in eVective, relevant and sustained CPD. It will conclude in Spring 2009. 47. There is a need for greater coherence around the provision of professional learning and development opportunities. This does not suggest a single monopolistic control of provision by government and its agencies but that a more sophisticated “market” analysis could be applied by these agencies to identify gaps and avoid duplication. There remains a question over the extent to which government, and its agencies, should shift their focus further away from being providers and more towards analysis of need, supporting innovation, assuring the quality and eVectiveness and evaluating the impact of what is oVered. How the local delivery agenda is shaped and supported needs to be rethought, as the present system is variable and unfocused.

12 A Personalised Approach to Continuing Professional Development (CPD). (2007) Advice to the Secretary of State for Education on eVective, relevant and sustained CPD for teachers. 13 General Teaching Council for England (2008) Survey of Teachers 2007: Report one/Teachers’ Careers and Views on Professional Development. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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Entitlement to CPD and Performance Management 48. Evidence from the GTC Connect Network highlights that the performance management regulations and professional standards framework, in combination, can be deployed to identify and address professional learning needs but that the sensitive balance between accountability and development needs to be maintained. 49. Previous concerns have been raised that although performance management is used well to address whole school issues, it often is not being used eVectively to target individual learning needs.14 A report published as part of the Cambridge review of primary education15 found that “government CPD strategy fails to recognise that teachers need more responsibility and control over the structure and timing of their professional development”. 50. The GTC would welcome a consideration of the extent to which, and in which circumstances performance management is functioning to deliver a well-informed needs analysis, development plan and eVective CPD and not solely a form of accountability.

Active Registration and Licence to Teach 51. Unlike many other professions, there is no requirement in teaching for an individual to demonstrate that they have maintained or improved their practice in order to remain registered and work as a qualiﬁed teacher. 52. In October 2008 the GTC initiated a research and policy project to consider the feasibility and desirability of some form of active registration for teaching. Subsequently, the Government has indicated that this is something it wishes to consider for the teaching profession in the New Opportunities White Paper: We will explore with our Social Partners options for linking together an individual’s possible entitlement to CPD with a “licence to teach”, on the lines of other high-status professions with a requirement to maintain high-level professional skills 53. In considering any model of licence to teach and entitlement to CPD the following factors need to be weighed in the balance: — the likely positive impact on performance and any perverse consequences (or on underperformance); — the symbolic value, both positive and negative, to the public and profession; — the likely impact on CPD practice, both positive and negative; and — its function within a system of increasingly intelligent accountability and the relative bureaucracy it might generate. 54. If a system of active registration of a licence to teach were to be pursued the GTC will seek a model that has a positive inﬂuence on the standards of learning experience and outcomes for children and young people.

Developing Inter-professional and Inter-phase Working 55. Opportunities for professional development to take teachers’ work with other children’s workforce professionals and other phases of education to the next level are few. The GTC project CPD to Make Every Child Matter16 found that there needs to be conscious planning of new experiences for “professionals to meet in inter-agency groups to learn from one another’s practice, when powerful learning appeared to take place it was because opportunities had been created for professionals to learn together towards a new provision”. 56. The GTC suggests that greater focus is given to inter-professional and inter-setting learning and development. This is particularly important in the context of 14–19 changes and transition generally. 57. A useful tool to support such development is the statement of values for integrated working with children and young people, which was created by GTC, General Social Care Council (GSCC) and Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and endorsed and adopted by the Children’s Workforce Network (CWN) and DCSF. It describes the common values, beliefs and behaviours that underpin joint working across agencies and professions and encourage practitioners to personalise services to the “whole child”. 58. The GTC advocates that this values statement should be linked to the induction standards and be a clear presence in revision of the Common Core of Skills, Knowledge and Understanding presaged in the Workforce Strategy. 59. With regard to the Masters in Teaching and Learning, the GTC welcomes the Government’s support for continuing professional development which has high rigour and sound status. However, the risk that MTL becomes a requirement for career progression rather than a driver for improved teaching needs to be

14 The logical chain: continuing professional development in eVective schools (2006). Ofsted 15 McNamara, O, Webb, R, & Brundrett, M. (2008) Primary Review Research Brieﬁngs 6/3 http://www.primaryreview.org.uk/ Publications/Interimreports.html 16 http://www.gtce.org.uk/networks/connect/resources/cpd for ecm jan09/ Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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managed. The extent of central speciﬁcation of content also needs to be handled carefully if the MTL is to be highly eVective in changing practice it will need to attend to the learning needs of the individual teacher whether that be, among others, pedagogy, context, subject, specialism, leadership or professionalism.

Conclusion 60. There is a broad consensus amongst the education community on what qualities are needed to become a good teacher and on what makes for good teaching, founded on a robust evidence base. A challenge for educationalists is to communicate that consensus and the reasons for it to the wider community of parents, pupils and policy makers. The Committee’s inquiry is therefore very welcome. 61. Teaching is a profession subject to change— in the types of individual attracted to it; in the nature of who and what teachers are required to teach and in the broader political climate in which teaching operates. The measures suggested in this memorandum are intended to ensure that the current and next generations of teachers have access to the skills and knowledge required in a modern and forward-looking teaching profession. February 2009

APPENDIX 1 THE EVIDENCE BASE FOR WHAT MAKES FOR GOOD QUALITY TEACHING AND HOW IT CAN BE MEASURED The Evidence Base 62. There are a number of significant contributors to the evidence base which have provided the confidence for the examples of good quality teaching we cite below. At its heart are the large-scale, systematic educational research reviews which pull together and synthesise the accumulated international evidence from numerous research studies. A recent review for QCA took the form of a “review of reviews”17 from which the reviewers mapped evidence from across a range of disciplines. To this we would add the accumulation of summaries of large-scale high quality empirical studies in the form of the GTC Research of the Month (RoM) series where there are now well over forty reports. Studies selected for the GTC features are all systematically appraised for both the weight of the evidence and for its utility to practitioners. The findings from the academic research are then linked to illustrative classroom studies by teachers in order to connect the evidence with day to day realities. The resulting archive has enabled the extraction of common themes which have been evidenced in studies from a range of disciplines. From these GTC has produced to date two “anthologies” for practitioners which highlight eVective behaviours for learning (and hence the good quality teaching required to develop such learning) drawn from robust and rigorously appraised research.18 The contribution of the TLRP findings and the development of the principles for eVective teaching and learning have also been a significant addition to the evidence base.

AShared Sense of what Makes for Good Quality Teaching 63. There is widespread agreement between researchers and practitioners about the importance of interpreting research evidence for context. This constitutes a movement away from hotly contested disputes about the relevance of value and utility of the evidence base. 64. We would argue that there is an increasingly widely shared sense of what constitutes good quality teaching, drawn from the accumulated findings of educational research and development. These findings are influencing policymaking through agencies such as QCA, TDA, the National Strategies and the GTC. 65. For example, the National Strategies are promoting the use of AfL and supporting practitioners to make use of evidence through their Research Lesson Study programme. Other policy initiatives that draw teachers into engaging with and using the evidence base include GTC’s Teacher Learning Academy, the national framework for Mentoring and Coaching, TDA’s Postgraduate professional development programme and, shortly to be launched, the new Masters in Teaching and Learning. 66. There has also been rapid growth in the number of tools designed to bring the evidence base to bear on practice, including again GTC’s Research of the Month project and the Research Informed Practice Site promoted by DCSF. Recently the conclusion of 22 schools projects involved in the multi-million pound Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) led to the development of the 10 principles19 of eVective teaching and learning. TLRP refers to an extensive and ever-expanding body of research findings about what really makes a diVerence in the classroom from which the ten principles are drawn. They are entirely consistent with the evidence-based teaching approaches listed above. EVective teaching and learning: — equips learners for life in its broadest sense;

17 Bell, M, Cordingley,P,& Goodchild, L. (2007) Map of Research Reviews QCA Building the Evidence Base Project September 2007—March 2011. Coventry: CUREE. 18 See for example GTC Behaviour for learning. Engaging with research (2007) http://www.gtce.org.uk/shared/contentlibs/ 85419/1372774/191738/bfl anthology.pdf 19 http://www.tlrp.org/pub/documents/Principles%20in%20Practice%20Low%20Res.pdf Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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— engages with valued forms of knowledge; — recognises the importance of prior experience and learning; — requires the teacher to scaVold learning; — needs assessment to be congruent with learning; — promotes the active engagement of the learner; — fosters both individual and social processes and outcomes; — recognises the significance of informal learning; — depends on teacher learning; and — demands consistent policy frameworks with support for teaching and learning as their primary focus. 67. One word of caution we would note here relates to teaching “fads” or ideas which travel through the profession like wildfire but for which there is no sound evidence base. The growth in “learning styles” approaches to teaching is a case in point, where diVerent commercial strategies and packages have proliferated and where research has warned of the dangers of stereotyping children’s approaches to learning and of the lack of evidence and benefits.

The Ways in which the Quality of Teaching can be Measured 68. DiVerent measurement regimes work eVectively for diVerent purposes. For improving quality you need formative and diagnostic measurement using evidence-informed yardsticks or frameworks to identify specific development points. For accountability purposes you need diVerent data such as those used by Ofsted. Ofsted frameworks are not perfect but they are wide ranging (eg they now include student and parent perceptions) and are widely used—and increasingly used by schools for internal development purposes, alongside other evaluative processes. There may though be a need to focus beyond a good lesson and good test results as proxies for good teaching. For example, there may be a need to measure the quality of classrooms and schools as learning environments because these are both indicators of and, to some extent, determinants of the quality of teaching. 69. The ability of the professional standards to act as a guide to benchmarks of teaching quality is limited. Nor do the Professional Standards provide a means for the teacher to reflect on or form a precise evaluation of their teaching, whereas, the TLA structure supports teachers to reflect on and evaluate their teaching. The National Strategies have over-specified the phenomenology of the profession rather than addressing the characteristics of eVective teaching.

Good Quality Teaching 70. Good quality teaching can and should be defined through its connection with good quality learning, which includes key contributors to the learning process (for example motivation or active engagement) as well as learning outcomes. Numerous variables interact between the two which makes it diYcult to isolate specific key factors. Nonetheless there is an increasingly mature evidence base (see below) about a number of approaches to teaching which are linked to evidence of eVective learning. The evidence base includes the growing number of systematic reviews of research in education.20 71. Teacher beliefs. Good quality teaching starts with what teachers believe about their students. For example if teachers have expectations that all pupils have the ability to learn, they are likely to be more successful in promoting high standards than teachers who believe that ability is fixed. 72. Teaching using Assessment for Learning (AfL) has been shown to enhance learning and improve achievement. “Assessment”, in this context, refers to activities undertaken by teachers and their students which provide feedback that shapes and develops planning to secure progress. It involves teachers finding out what their students know, can do and need to do—and then using this in feedback to students where criteria are shared with them. 73. Teaching Thinking Skills through approaches that extend pupils’ understanding, reasoning ability and problem-solving skills enables them to transfer learning from one situation to another. Thinking skills programmes aim to promote better thinking among pupils so that they can adopt and retain for further use strategies for problem solving and analysis (higher order thinking skills). 74. Collaborative learning and structured challenge in group work are eVective learning strategies— provided teachers give clear guidance for groups to follow, tasks to undertake and activities that help students develop the skills they need to work collaboratively. Because this type of learning always involves bringing more than one perspective or “logic” to bear on a topic, it is also often referred to as dialogic learning.

20 In the UK many of these are published and quality assured by the EPPI Centre at the London Institute of Education. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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75. Context based teaching explores phenomena in real or simulated situations and there is evidence of its eVectiveness in raising achievement across the curriculum. Such approaches help to include all students because they draw on contexts with which the students—particularly those from minority groups—are familiar. 76. Making links with home and community can make a diVerence to student learning. Teachers can use diVerent strategies for promoting conversations between children and their parents at home, and involving parents in their children’s learning. 77. Building on students’ existing knowledge and understanding is an eVective means of preventing and or working with and through conceptual misunderstandings which, if they are not addressed, may inhibit achievement. 78. Teachers’ excellent content knowledge. If teachers are to be eVective practitioners they need to have a deep knowledge and understanding of the subject matter in order to be able to support children’s learning through the use of appropriate pedagogies. Teachers draw on both their subject knowledge and their experience and knowledge of learning. 79. The role of professional development is key to all of these teaching and learning strategies. We know from an extensive evidence base that collaborative CPD, sustained over time and with plenty of opportunities for practice, interpretation and adaptation for context and the needs of speciﬁc pupils, can be a powerful lever for developing high quality teaching. Teachers need access to specialist expertise but also to work with each other to embed professional learning in day to day practice and to link it closely to their aspirations for and concerns about their pupils’ learning and achievement. 80. The Timperly review21 of best evidence about the positive impact of CPD on student learning has highlighted the importance of: — engaging teachers in the learning process; — challenging problematic discourses; — providing opportunities to interact with a number of professionals; — school-based learning activities; and, — allowing time for extended learning opportunities and using that time eVectively

APPENDIX 2 BECOMING A TEACHER 81. The Becoming a Teacher report finds that for individual trainees a complex interplay of issues impacted on their choice of ITT route and provider. Trainees main considerations were: the balance of in- school and out of school training; geographical availability; financial viability; the length/duration of the programme; and the reputation of particular ITT providers. 82. Trainees following diVerent routes cite diVerent reasons for their choices. For instance, most GRTP respondents (81%) said they chose this route largely because it was the best option financially (this was of concern for only 50% PGCE and 14 BEd students). Many SCITT respondents (66%) made their choice because of a desire to be trained by qualified teachers in school. PGCE student responses were more variable, but the factor influencing the highest number (54%) was the balance of in-school and out-of-school training.

Becoming a Teacher 83. The Becoming a Teacher report of trainee teachers found that 97 % of survey respondents reported feeling confident that their ITT programme had prepared them to be an eVective teacher. However, this figure needs treating with some caution as it is based purely on perception and not knowledge of their eYcacy. Critically it may have been caused by the “halo eVect” of the project—in that the trainees who took part in the project may have felt better supported and enthusiastic about their experience of ITE. 84. The research revealed diVerences in confidence levels between ITE routes. A higher proportion of GRTP and a lower proportion of PGCE trainees than those following other routes reported feeling “very confident” that their ITT route had prepared them to be an eVective teacher. This could be related to time spent in school as GRTP students spend almost all their time in school, while PGCE students spend considerably less time, or it could be linked to tutor pedagogies encountered and their perceived relevance. 85. From the research it is also known that trainees value the support provided by their peers as well as aspects of HEI provision, and that GRTP students would like more of these aspects. It is possible that GRTP students may not yet be aware of what they do not know, while PGCE students have, by the end of their courses, an awareness of “theories” for which they have yet to find a relevance. Whatever the explanation, consideration should be given to addressing the diVerent experiences and confidence levels resulting from various ITE routes.

21 Timperley et al. (2007) Teacher Professional Learning and Development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration (BES). Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Education Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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86. The research also considered those areas for which trainees felt well prepared and those for which they felt underprepared. Specific areas in which case study trainees indicated (unprompted) that they felt particularly well-prepared included: subject knowledge; classroom management; and lesson planning. Areas identified (without specific prompting) as those in which they felt least prepared included subject knowledge (again); teaching a specific key stage; assessment including diVerentiation; and adapting to a diVerent school. The Committee may like to consider how well ITE is addressing those areas where trainees felt underprepared 87. Also of interest are the views of ITE programme personnel. Of the diVerent ITE routes into teaching, undergraduate routes such as the BEd; BA/BSc QTS were valued for the time allowed to prepare and to create a deeper awareness of teaching and teaching issues. However, it was recognised that not everyone knows at “such an early age” that they want to go into teaching, and the longer route is not often an option for more mature entrants. 88. Programme personal perceived that the PGCE, the other long established route, had established structures for an eVective ITT programme. However, the limited time allocation was of concern. 89. SCITTs and the GRTP both attracted favourable comments for the amount of time spent in school which was seen as a strength. However, concerns were expressed regarding the potential for variation of provision between diVerent schools; the limited opportunities for experience of other schools and potential lack of support. There were also concerns that those teaching GRTP trainees might perpetuate already out- dated modes of thinking and working. 90. Programme personnel valued the range of routes and its role in increasing the diversity of potential good teachers and oVering diVerent routes which maximised their existing strengths and abilities.

APPENDIX 3 The GTC TEACHER LEARNING ACADEMY (TLA) 91. Research evidence consistently says that the most eVective kind of teacher learning: — is clear and explicit that its goal is to improve pupils’ learning; — gives teachers autonomy to determine their development needs; — uses coaching and mentoring; — involves observation, feedback and collaborative working; and — involves teachers in researching, putting the research into practice and reflecting with others on the outcomes. 92. These characteristics of eVective teacher learning are combined as the basis of the GTC TLA which the GTC established in order to contribute to raising standards of teaching and learning. The TLA is the first national scheme to scaVold and recognise teachers’ professional learning. So far 15,000 teachers have enrolled and the size and scope of the TLA continues to grow. By the end of the pilot phase in September 2008 conversion rates from enrolment to submission stood at 60% with over 40 partner organisations using and supporting the TLA including the TDA, SSAT, NCSL, QCA, BECTA, National Science Learning Centre, NUT, ASCL. 93. Teachers participating in the TLA identify issues which are key to developing their practice, of salience to their pupils’ learning and achievement and to their school. They draw upon recent relevant research and/or the observable practice of colleagues within or out of their school, and with the support of a coach draw up a plan to adopt or adapt new ways to improve their teaching. They evaluate this change to their practice and the impact of their learning, modifying their approach as they learn. They share their experience with others by presenting and discussing their project with their peers, helping to develop each other’s teaching practice. Thereafter, teachers present their criterion-referenced accounts of their enquiry and learning for verification by their trained peers in other schools who recommend if formal recognition is to be awarded. The peer-verification model is moderated and quality assured by the GTC and its logistics partner. 94. There are currently 250 schools which have gained or are working towards permissions to verify or oVer outreach support to other schools via the award of the TLA School and Centre status. All must have at least one TLA Leader and one TLA Verifier and CPD plan which supports enquiry based teacher learning to become a TLA School. TLA Centres require more trained verifier capacity and to outreach support and undertake the verifications of other school’s TLA presentations. The targets for TLA growth show a year on year growth of at least the same number again of TLA Schools. In addition, organisations can now demonstrate that they have aligned their programmes to support teachers’ participation in and verification through the TLA by acquiring TLA Support Partner status. Thus greater impact is added to course provision by ensuring that teachers are supported to put their learning into real change in their practice. 95. The TLA is in the process of becoming a self-sustaining financial model with the imminent introduction of an enrolment fee and a charge to train verifiers and leaders and become a TLA School, Centre or Support Partner. Much of the enrolment fee is returned to the system and schools are able to recoup much of it for verification and verifier training costs. The enrolment fee is less than the cost of one day’s supply cover. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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96. There are clear benefits to such a model where teachers support and act as informed critical friends to the development of their fellow teachers. These include its high and direct impact on practice, its sustainability; value for money and not least the benefits to the teachers who become verifiers and gain leadership skills and expertise. Many teachers also use their involvement in the TLA to support the development of their practice and career development through the performance management framework in schools, providing evidence of their learning and impact. The evidence on the impact of the TLA is cited below.

The Impact of the TLA on Teaching,Pupil Learning and School Development 97. The TLA has been evaluated independently for its impact by the National Foundation for Educational Research (Evaluation of the Teacher Learning Academy: Impacts on teachers, schools and pupils, 2009) and the report finds that: — enquiry and practice-based CPD is powerful and produces positive eVects at many diVerent levels including those which directly impact on children’s learning, achievement, motivation and enjoyment as well as the learning and teaching of the teacher, their eVectiveness, motivation and confidence; — the use of the TLA positively changes schools’ approaches to CPD, the focus on learning and sharing learning between teachers, the extent and quality of available coaching and external networking between schools and teachers; — individual teachers’ innovations through their TLA projects can have positive impacts across an entire school with regard to ways of teaching, shared knowledge & understanding and teaching and learning policies; — TLA participation leads to sustained impacts in relation to the approaches generated by the specific enquiry project, and in relation to professional capabilities and dispositions, such as being a reflective and evaluative practitioner; — the TLA provides a means to evaluate the impact of CPD as an authentic part of the classroom process which is not added-on and can generate a manageable whole school approach; — school leaders’ support for teachers enquiry led work in the TLA makes a diVerence and enables the transformational potential of teacher learning in schools; and — the TLA encourages teachers to participate in professional learning and provides them with the confidence for, and a pathway into, more in-depth learning.

Memorandum submitted by Teach First Executive Summary of Evidence — In reviewing ITE/ITT for the TUNING process it was evident that the systems which exist in the UK have been subject to less analytical review when compared with other European countries: there is a need to fund a similar detailed review across the four nations in the UK. — There is the need to fund a single organisation whose purpose is to provide access to research literature which encompasses links to archived and current sites. The Teacher Training Resource Bank funded by the TDA has raised the status of the available resources but has failed to combine its eVorts with those of the various subject associations, non-government department agencies, funded research and university departments. — There is a need to develop a process by which research into teacher education in the UK can be developed and distributed. — There is a need to review current standards within the context of European initiatives and guidance. The revisions to the Qualifying to Teach Standards are to be welcomed, however these do not relate to the European Common Principles as cited in Improving the Quality of Teacher Education in Europe (2007). — There is a need to map QTS against UK (Scotland), European and global expectations for qualifying to teach, to ensure both progression from graduate status and the need for the programme to be recognised in other countries. — BME statistics at university and national level indicates that there are shortcomings in the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession. The TDA partnership initiative needs to be reviewed. — The current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT which is welcomed by Teach First. There is a need to monitor and evaluate such practice in a way that will inform and develop good practice. — The time dedicated to training and developing teachers when compared to more educationally successful countries is inadequate, and Teach First has demonstrated that a two year programme Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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focusing on practice and leadership in schools in challenging circumstances produces eVective results. There is a need to learn from this model in advising practice rather than the mere gathering of evidence in reports. — There is a need to review the model and to increase investment in partnerships between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT. — The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT has been dependent on the individual and the organisation in which they work. There is a need to provide a framework for practice for mentors and staV. — The current framework for CPD with multi-agency engagement has proven diYcult for teachers to engage. There is a need to research and evaluate the complexity of the current model. — There is a need for research into the adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision.

Introduction to Submitter Professor Blandford Professor Sonia Blandford has been at the forefront of ITT and CPD development in the UK through direct involvement in the creation and management of innovative programmes including; PGCE 7–14; PGCE ﬂexible routes; PGCE 14–19 (Joint accreditation); Teach First, iTEACH, Early Years; masters and the professional doctorate in education. Professor Blandford chaired the TUNING validation panel and was one of four professors who as expert advisors to the European Commission created the European Common Principles for Teacher Education. Professor Blandford has published over 50 books and papers on professional development and school leadership. From 2002–08, Professor Blandford was Pro-Director and Dean of Education at Canterbury Christchurch University, responsible for growing Teacher Education and CPD from 2000 to over 600 students. Professor Blandford took up her role as Teach First’s Director of Leadership Development in May 2008.

Teach First Teach First is an independent charity, founded by business, with a mission to “address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into eVective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all ﬁelds”. Teach First was founded in response to a report by McKinsey in 2001, which considered how to improve the life chances of disadvantaged children in London. The report found that the most important factor in closing the employability gap between children of high and low income families was the standard of education they received and, more speciﬁcally, the quality of their teachers. We train and place teachers in challenged urban schools: where either more than 30% of children claim Free School Meals or less than 25% achieve 5 A*–C grades at GCSE, including Maths and English. In most cases, our schools meet both these criteria. Our two year teacher training and leadership development programme enables our participants (teachers) and Ambassadors (alumni) to: — Raise achievement — Raise aspirations — Create access to opportunities Initially set up in London, Teach First is now also based in the North West, East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire.

Evidence in Full 1. Measuring quality 1.1 The evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching is limited in both research and inspection terms. The study of initial teacher education/training has a short and somewhat superﬁcial history. In reviewing ITE/ITT for the TUNING process it was evident that the systems which exist in the UK have been subject to less analytical review when compared with other European countries; an example of good practice is the comparative study carried out in South East Europe. There is a need to fund a similar detailed review of ITE/ITT across the four nations in the UK. The review should encompass all research/inspection material associated with work-based routes and provide comparison with similar training in health and social care (the GTC(E) might play a part in this research). Teach First is considering developing its own directory of evidence-based training and practice focusing on developing maximum impact in the classroom. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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1.2 Research into subject-based pedagogy has been limited to the publication of one or two key texts utilised by the majority of providers (for example, Viv Ellis; Capel, Leask and Turner). The Teacher Training Resource Bank funded by the Training and Development Agency has raised the status of the available resources but has failed to combine its eVorts with those of the various subject associations, non-government department agencies, funded research (eg ESRC, EPPI) and university departments. Selection of texts for review is limited. There is the need to fund a single organisation whose purpose is to provide access to research literature which encompasses links to archived and current sites. Teach First have utilised American based research which focuses on pupil development in terms of access, achievement and aspirations to inform its practice. There is a need to develop a process by which research into Teacher Education in the UK can be developed and distributed, not unlike the work on evidence-based practice currently under development at the University of York. 1.3 The range of ITE/ITT programmes has grown without reference to a common benchmark or set of principles. The revisions to the Qualifying to Teach Standards are to be welcomed, however these do not relate to the European Common Principles as cited in Improving the Quality of Teacher Education in Europe (2007).22 There is a need to review current standards within the context of European initiatives and guidance. 1.4 The quality of the award is framed by the level of accreditation. As an Employment–based ITT (EBITT) programme there has been a problem with transferability of the QTS award; Teach First teachers have not been in a position to transfer to fully qualified status in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland, each of these countries do not accept the quality of the programme as equal to graduate/postgraduate awards. There is also a need for the UK to agree the transferability of awards to other contexts, recent attempts to benchmark QTS against Early Years Practitioner Standards/National Professional Qualification for Integrated Centre Leadership have proven diYcult to frame. 1.5 The National College for School Leadership has identified a need to benchmark the range of ITE/ ITT programmes against the Quality Assurance Agency Framework for Qualifications. Teach First are in the process of revalidating each aspect of the programme at Masters level to ensure both progression from graduate status and the need for the programme to be recognised in other countries. There is a need to map QTS against UK (Scotland), European and global expectations for qualifying to teach. 1.6 The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured is a long-standing dilemma. Teach First is currently bringing to a close research into the Maximum Impact Programme, which has focused on the quality of teaching in terms of measuring levels of teacher success through pupil outcomes in literacy, numeracy and subject knowledge. Findings from the Manchester University led study will be available in September 2009.

2. Entry into the teaching profession 2.1 Teach First has developed a focused approach to the recruitment of teachers. In essence, Teach First has through research and experience captured the characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers which go beyond those reflected in current entry requirements for ITT. Through a demanding four part assessment process, candidates must demonstrate not only high academic abiltiy but meet our core competencies of humility, respect and empathy, interactivity, knowledge, leadership, planning and organising, problem solving, resilience and self-evaluation. Further details can be found in the recent report submitted to the TDA, Teach First—Innovations in Teacher Training (December 2008).23 2.2 Teach First’s success is evidence that the appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level may not be entirely appropriate. Teach First Ofsted report, issued in January 2008, provides an indication of the quality and impact of Teach First teachers. 2.3 The January 2008 report reported that half of Teach First’s 2006 cohort achieved the Standards for QTS at an outstanding level, while some “were judged by inspectors to be amongst the most exceptional trainees produced by any teacher training route.” Inspectors also reported that our participants are highly committed to our mission of countering educational disadvantage and “have a markedly beneficial impact on the schools involved.” They were, for example, “starting to have a notable impact… in transforming underperforming departments.” 2.4 Schools now have teachers who have followed up to 36 diVerent training routes, there needs to be further research into whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers. Teach First is a singular approach to attracting teachers of significant quality which has proven to be successful, other employment–based and mainstream routes do not bear similar scrutiny (GTP reports 2005–07). 2.5 BME statistics at university and national level indicates that there are shortcomings in the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession. The TDA partnership initiative needs to be reviewed.

22 Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament, Improving the Quality of Teacher Education in Europe, 2007 23 TDA Report, Innovation in Initial Teacher Education, December 2008 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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2.6 Ofsted has indicated in the recent past that the extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings has improved. The time dedicated to training and developing teachers when compared to more educationally successful countries is inadequate (eg Finland, Singapore and America). Teach First has demonstrated that a two year programme focusing on practice and leadership in schools in challenging circumstances produces eVective results. The concentration on training and professional development is a unique partnership between schools, business, universities and participants. Schools in challenging circumstances have welcomed Teach First, the intensive nature of support, knowledge, and guidance invested in each participant is seen to be of value. There is a need to learn from this model in advising practice rather than the mere gathering of evidence in reports.

2.7 The current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT which is to be welcomed by Teach First. There is a need to monitor and evaluate such practice in a way that will inform and develop good practice.

2.8 The management and leadership of the partnership between Teach First and higher education institutions has been commended by Ofsted. Teach First acknowledges the need for partnership with universities in developing teachers. International research (Finland, Singapore and America) has also recognised the need for such partnerships. Teach for America has increasingly engaged with national and regional universities for the provision and accreditation of training. The research base, knowledge and expertise provided by university partners has been acknowledged by Teach First participants as has the support provided by tutors in the ﬁeld.

2.9 The current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is in need of further enhancement. Current partnerships in mainstream programmes are limited by time and resource. Universities and schools require additional time to develop and share expertise. The additional resource invested in Teach First has proven to be eVective, with a combination of business, school and university investment in participants over the two year cycle of the programme. There is a need to review the model and to increase investment in partnerships.

2.10 The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings, has been dependent on the individual and the organisation in which they work. Teach First has invested in further training for tutors, mentors and Teach First staV. It has been evident that this provision has been eVective (Ofsted Evaluation, 200824). Research produced by Hazel Hagger and colleagues at the University of Oxford also recommends further investment in training.25 There is a need to provide a framework for practice for mentors and staV.

2.11 The relationship between research and practice is self-evident. The UK has utilised subject and professional knowledge to inform practice ( for example, Furlong; Hagger; Ellis; Leask; Walliam et al). There is a need to frame new research and to generate and capture new thinking and practice. The place of technology in shaping and disseminating research is in need of development; communities of practice within and beyond schools and universities who are at the cutting edge of provision need to have access to a means of communicating research through practice. Teach First has developed its approach to training through research into maximum impact within classrooms. This has culminated in a focused, outcomes driven approach to practice (Innovation in Initial Teacher Education, December 200826).

3. CPD provision 3.1 The extent to which CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school is dependent on the provider. The current framework for CPD with multi-agency engagement has proven diYcult for teachers to engage. GTC(E), CWDC, TDA, NCSL, IfL, LLUK (SVUK), Local Authorities, schools, charities, unions, independent consultancies and universities all resource programmes for teachers (accredited and non-accredited). Teach First has created Teach On to manage the information ﬂow and guide its Ambassadors (teachers who successfully complete the two year leadership programme). There is a need to research and evaluate the complexity of the current model.

3.2 The development, implementation of the Teach First Maximum Impact Programme has clearly demonstrated the diYculty of measuring impact of training on pupil gain. Current research is focusing on access, achievement and aspiration. There is a need for research into the adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. Teach First has demonstrated that by providing a single movement, teachers gain value from focused training which has culminated in signiﬁcant gains.

24 Ofsted, Rising to the challenge: a review of the Teach First initial teacher training programme, 25 January 2008 25 E.g. Hagger, H, Learning teaching from teachers: realising the potential of school-based teacher education, Open University Press, 2006 (with D McIntyre) 26 Report to the TDA, Innovation in Initial Teacher Education, December 2008 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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Teach First’s Key Recommendations for Action 4.1 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) should continue to be central to all teacher training routes so that a national standard is maintained, this should encompass the development of a Masters level awarded as determined in European and global universities. 4.2 As the qualification for teaching develops at Master’s level, teacher training should include leadership knowledge, skills and experience within the training programme. 4.3 Teacher training programmes should develop modules which specifically aim to train graduates to teach and lead in challenging urban schools, including those currently listed as National Challenge Schools. 4.4 Leaders from business should contribute to the creation and delivery of the leadership element of teacher training. 4.5 The marketing and recruitment of teachers should be revised urgently to reflect the values and competences required in 21st Century Schools. 4.6 HEIs should establish strong networks to develop and deliver Continuing Professional Development for all teachers, these might include national agencies, local authorities, business leaders and community networks. February 2009

Additional Written Evidence — Innovation in Initial Teacher Education, TDA Report, December 2008 http://www.teachﬁrst.org.uk/news/Innovation in ITE — Rising to the challenge: a review of the Teach First initial teacher training programme, 25 January 2008 http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by- type/Thematic-reports/Rising-to-the-challenge-a-review-of-the-Teach-First-initial-teacher- training-programme/%28language%29/eng-GB — Improving the Quality of Teacher Education in Europe, 2007 http://ec.europa.eu/education/com392 en.pdf

Memorandum submitted by the Institute of Education, University of London Summary 1. Measuring quality — Good teachers’ expertise combines a range of knowledge strands beyond subject content, and is highly context-speciﬁc. Policy should focus on supporting the quality of learning as much as on the quality of teaching.

2. Entry into the teaching profession — There are concerns about the overall quality of some entrants to teaching, and evidence suggests that we recruit less academically able candidates than the most successful education systems. — Teacher recruitment cannot be separated from retention—a high proportion of teachers leave the profession in the ﬁrst ﬁve years which is not cost eVective. — Undergraduate teacher education does not deliver consistently high-quality candidates into teaching and needs to be radically reformed. — Attracting the best teachers to the most challenging schools will not be achieved by salary-based solutions alone; access to support and career development are key.

3. The delivery of ITE — Education is critical in the 21st century. In the past, it was enough to recruit teachers of average quality. This is no longer acceptable and the ﬁtness for purpose of ITE for a radically changing school system needs evaluating. — England is distinctive internationally in the extent to which it has developed university-school partnerships for delivering teacher education. Partnership has been successful, but in many areas (particularly London) partnerships are unstable; more robust relationships between HE institutions and schools are needed. — The thrust of recent ITE reform has emphasised the practical element over the theoretical and reﬂective. We need to ensure that teaching becomes a genuinely evidence—and research-based profession. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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4. CPD provision — The quality of CPD for existing teachers is still variable and a low proportion of teacher time is devoted to it. — We need to engineer improvement at a much more rapid pace and with a commitment to research- based and on-going professional learning if we are to develop the teaching profession we need for the 21st century. This submission has been coordinated on behalf of the Institute by Chris Husbands, Professor of Education and Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Pedagogy, Institute of Education and Susan Steward, Research and Policy OYcer to the Dean of the Faculty of Culture and Pedagogy, Institute of Education. The Institute of Education (IOE) is a leading centre for teacher education and educational research, with a turnover of £70 million. Each year it manages over 100 research projects and secures over 40% of education research funding in the UK; the 2008 research assessment exercise (RAE) conﬁrmed its pre-eminence with 35% of its work recognised as “world-leading”. It is a diverse provider of initial teacher education, preparing over 1,200 new teachers for primary,secondary and post-compulsory settings through a mixture of full-time, part-time and employment-based routes. The IOE pioneered many aspects of teacher preparation that have subsequently become routine in national policy, including school-based teacher education, support for schools facing challenging circumstances, structured induction and award-bearing early career professional development. We have the largest portfolio of education Masters programmes in the UK and an exceptional range of research degrees that teachers undertake on a part-time basis.

Preface We use the term “initial teacher education” (ITE) rather than “initial teacher training” (ITT) throughout to reﬂect the need for all teachers to develop and enhance their knowledge, skills and disposition over the course of their professional life. Training implies the acquisition of a set of skills and competencies that ﬁnishes when the required standard is reached; while initial preparation should prepare beginning teachers for the reality of classroom life, it also needs to provide a grounding of the knowledge and skills which enable teachers to become eVective professionals committed to continuous development.

B. Measuring Quality 1. “Good” teachers secure high outcomes for all students. The McKinsey report27 identiﬁed teacher quality as the main component of high quality education systems. Research suggests that eVective teachers have both wide knowledge and the ability to use that knowledge appropriately in a variety of contexts.28 Teachers’ knowledge not only includes subject matter but also of pedagogies, the curriculum, students’ learning and, most importantly, how to combine these diVerent knowledge strands.29 2. Through research programmes such as the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme, based at the Institute30 we are developing a consensus on the nature of successful teaching and learning. While there are generic competencies that characterise “good” teaching, it should not be assumed that standard instruments can be developed to measure all teachers and their teaching. Best practice is context dependent—consider such diverse settings as an early years classroom compared with an A-level History class or a Key Stage 3 Mathematics class compared to a Physical Education class. As a result, high quality teaching also depends on opportunities for teachers to investigate successful practices and to learn from others in similar settings.31 3. In the 1990s, Ofsted evidence provided a measure of the quality of classroom teaching because inspections were based on large numbers of lesson observations undertaken by inspection teams. The Ofsted database provided a basis for making judgements about quality of teaching between subjects, across the age range and across the country. The transformation of the Ofsted model into a self-evaluation-driven process, whatever its other merits, means that this external evidential base no longer exists. 4. There is a strong case for focusing on the quality of learning which takes place rather than on trying to assess good teaching. High quality learning also requires a number of other elements, for example: strong home-school partnerships, good teaching resources including ICT, well maintained buildings, and positive prior learning experiences. One function of good teacher education is helping teachers enhance the impact of their work in the context of these other factors.

27 Barber M & Mourshed M, (2007) How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. London: McKinsey & Company. 28 See, eg, Verloop,N, Van Driel, J, and Meijer, P,(2001) “Teacher knowledge and the knowledge base of teaching”, International Journal of Educational Research, 35, 5, pp. 441–461; Darling-Hammond, Linda. (2002). Research and rhetoric on teacher certification: A response to “Teacher Certification Reconsidered,” Education Policy Analysis Archives, 10(36). 29 Gopinathan, S, et al (2008) Transforming Teacher Education: Redefined Professionals for 21st Century Schools, Report Commissioned by the International Alliance of Leading Education Institutes (NIE, Singapore); P Rudd, M Rickinson and P Benefield, (2004) Mapping Work on the Future of Teaching and Learning: final report for the General Teaching Council (London: NFER and GTC(E)). 30 See www.tlrp.ac.uk 31 On the importance of context, see Day, C, Stobart, G, Sammons, P, Kington, A, Gu, Q, (2006) Teachers Matter: Connecting Work, Lives and EVectiveness (Buckingham, Open University Press). Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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C. Entry into the Teaching Profession Entry requirements 1. There are ﬂoor requirements for entry to ITE.32 Decisions on admissions beyond minimum requirements rest with individual providers. Given the importance of attracting the most able candidates, it would be imprudent to relax formal entry requirements. Even though this might improve supply in shortage subjects, consequences for overall quality would be negative. There is evidence that the intellectual calibre of recruits to the teaching profession is positively correlated with student attainment.33 Current entry requirements probably secure recruits from the top 35–40% of the population, though this varies across subject.34 According to Smithers and Robinson, 70% of History teachers have a 2:1 degree or better, but only 40% of Mathematics teachers.35 By comparison, higher performing school systems in PISA36 select teachers from the top third of graduates from the school system, and the best performing countries such as South Korea and Finland recruit from the top 5% and 10% respectively.37 Of course, there is no guarantee that a student teacher with high qualiﬁcations will necessarily acquire the practical skills and knowledge in the other areas described above, but without high intellectual calibre, even high quality skills will be less eVective.38 2. “The top-performing school systems have more eVective mechanisms for selecting people for teacher training than do lower performing systems”.39 Both Singapore and Finland select on academic achievement, communication skills and the motivation to teach.40 However, in order to be able to choose from the highest quality graduates, teaching as a career must be seen as attractive so that these candidates want to apply. The status of teachers in high-performing countries is high; in both Singapore and South Korea “the general public believe teachers make a greater contribution to society than any other profession”.41

Trainee numbers and quality 3. Since the establishment of the TTA in 1994, ITE allocations have been driven by two pressures: first, the need to recruit suYcient teachers to deliver the National Curriculum, and secondly the statutory requirement to take into account quality of ITE provision in allocating places. While the latter has been a lever for improving quality, the former has been the paramount concern and has driven the diversification of routes into teaching: mainstream higher education numbers would not alone have ensured recruitment in shortage/priority areas.42 To this extent, the way in which training numbers have been allocated nationally has been successful: it has not been necessary for schools to send pupils home, or to expand class size as a result of teacher shortage. However, the strategy has meant that ITE allocations have been relatively conservative in their approach, and as curriculum reform, 14–19 and workforce remodelling take hold, these may produce an increasing disjunction between the needs of schools and the organisation of ITE. Current ITE provision needs to adapt to and keep pace with the changing system. 4. Teacher recruitment cannot be separated from retention. Evidence suggests that 33% of teachers leave the profession within five years of qualifying, and, perhaps more worryingly in terms of financial and personal investment, of every hundred students recruited onto ITE courses, only 56 are teaching five years after qualifying.43 If more teachers could be retained, training numbers could be reduced. Alternatives such as recruiting more beginning teachers so that only the best ones are recruited by schools (as in Toronto44) or recruiting fewer but of better quality could be considered. It may also be that it is not the “wrong” teachers who prematurely leave but the “right” teachers who are not given adequate support in their first few years. We need to better understand the reasons for teacher withdrawal from the profession and newly qualified teachers’ early professional experiences so that we can improve the initial preparation year, induction and early career development.

32 Currently, GCSE at grade C or better in English and Mathematics (plus Science for primary teachers) and a degree or equivalent qualiﬁcation; see www.tda.gov.uk 33 eg, and much quoted, Sanders, W, and Rivers, J, (1996) Cumulative and Residual EVects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement, University of Tennessee Value-Added Research and Assessment Center. 34 Based on HE participation rates of approximately 40%, and on data which suggests that approximately 50% of entrants have a 2:1 degree or better. However, in some key areas, including Mathematics and Science, these ﬁgures would suggest recruitment into teaching from the fourth decile. 35 http://www.buckingham.ac.uk/education/research/ceer/pdfs/gtt-report.pdf 36 Programme for International Student Assessment; see www.pisa.oecd.org 37 Barber and Mourshed, How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top, p 16. 38 The American research evidence suggests that nothing other than teacher IQ eVectively predicts teacher quality. See E A Hanushek, F Welsh and S Rivkin (2006) “Teacher Quality” in E AHanushek, ed, Handbook of the Economics of Education, vol 2 (Stanford). 39 Barber and Mourshed, How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top, p 17. 40 Barber and Mourshed, How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top, p17; Gopinathan et al, Transforming Teacher Education, p 39. 41 Barber and Mourshed, How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top p 22. 42 There is international evidence that traditionally organised teacher training lacks the sustained capacity to deliver to schools the range, diversity and numbers of education professionals which modernising schools need; see Gopinathan, S, et al Transforming Teacher Education,pp86V. 43 Data provided by TDA. 44 Mira Gambhir, Kathy Broad, Mark Evans and Jane Gaskell (2008) Characterising teacher education in Canada: themes and issues (Ontario: Toronto, OISE). Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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5. The current range of routes has been broadly eVective in attracting teachers from a variety of backgrounds with a range of qualifications, skills and attributes. Many of the barriers to entry have been removed with the development of part-time, employment-based and school-led provision. Entry routes into teaching are more diverse than in almost any other country. There is inspection evidence that employment- based routes into teaching struggle with quality issues especially in knowledge-underpinnings for teaching.45 However the picture may be even more complex than it appears at first sight: some universities run employment-based and conventional provision; many school-centred schemes draw extensively on university-expertise. There is a strong case for a coherent examination of the relationship between diVerent routes into teaching and the experiences of teachers themselves—ultimately new teachers gain QTS from all these routes but there is little research on how diVerent routes prepare them for their professional life and career prospects with the underpinning knowledge needed. 6. There should be a question-mark over the continued existence of undergraduate (BEd/BA(QTS)) teacher education. Undergraduate teacher education, now almost entirely primary, has low A-level entry requirements (often D/E grades) so it fails the McKinsey test on recruiting from the top third of the cohort, is relatively inflexible in responding to changing demand because it involves a three or four year course, and produces a qualification which has low currency in graduate employment markets. There is a case for moving to wholly post-graduate entry. Many countries in Europe do use a “concurrent” model—ie education combined with a degree in another subject—but the course is usually longer and recruitment more competitive than for a BEd.46 7. Undergraduate provision should be retained as a training vehicle for the wider children’s workforce, focused on youth, community and psycho-social work, with considerable foundation degree and part-time provision. Universities have developed “educational studies” degree programmes; recruitment onto these is typically from those with higher A-level grades than for BEd degrees. Foundation degrees for the wider children’s workforce, as at the Institute, are highly eVective in widening participation.

Diversity 8. Some measures to improve diversity have been successful although there is a lag between the transformation of school populations and the transformation of educational infrastructures. There may too be dangers in “ghettoising” ethnic minority teachers in schools with pupil intakes like themselves and there is research that reports that “most ethnic teachers expressed impatience with school leaders’ inequitable approaches to promotion”.47 Considering the proportion of men in primary teaching, this has remained virtually static throughout the twentieth century and despite attempts to recruit more men onto ITE courses the actual percentage has never exceeded 20%. There is also some evidence that despite small increases in the number of men recruited onto ITE courses the proportion of male primary teachers is declining.48

The adequacy of ITE for entry into the teaching profession. 9. Ofsted evidence49 and the NQT survey50 suggests that ITE is generally good. The former Schools Minister Lord Adonis asserted that the country has the “best trained teachers it has ever had”. However, the demands on teachers in the early 21st century are considerable, and changing quickly. The teaching profession of the 21st century requires: — practitioners with strong underpinning knowledge about successful pedagogy as well as classroom skills and secure subject understanding. Given the rapid transformation of knowledge, this subject understanding involves knowing how subject disciplines work and how to develop these at interdisciplinary boundaries as much as extensive content knowledge; — teachers who have a commitment to excellence and equity for all so that all students reach their potential; — teachers committed to informed interventionism that involves working successfully with others such as parents and other professionals to build success in learning. We do not currently have the infrastructure to develop this profession. Debates about the location and form of teacher education are side-shows in relation to the form of teacher professionalism we need in order to create a world-class education system. The emergent view in the highest performing education systems is that we need an active transformation of teaching, much like the transformation of the medical profession after the Second World War.51

45 Ofsted (2007) An employment based route into teaching 2003–06 (London, Ofsted). 46 Beard, R, (2007) Content and Quality of Teacher Education across Europe (Brussels: Council of Europe). 47 Hargreaves L, M Cunningham, T Everton, A Hansen, B Hopper, D McIntyre, C Oliver, T Pell, M Rouse, and P Turner (2007) The Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in England: Final Report (London, DfES report 831B). 48 Thornton, M & Bricheno, P (2006) Missing Men in Education Stoke on Trent: Trentham Books p 33–34 49 Ofsted (2008) Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (London: Ofsted) http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/ Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Annual-Report/2007-08/The-Annual-Report-of-Her-Majesty-s-Chief-Inspector- 2007-08. 50 http://www.tda.gov.uk/upload/resources/pdf/n/nqt survey results 2008.pdf 51 Gopinathan, S , et al (2008) Transforming Teacher Education, p 90, and passim for a full analysis of the global transformation of teaching which is taking place. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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10. A major challenge lies in establishing what it is sensible to teach in ITE as part of professional preparation and what would be best taught as part of early career enhancement. This is especially true in respect of SEN. Galton and MacBeath note that “while the proportion of children requiring specialised support has increased, the specialist knowledge and qualiﬁcations have not kept pace”.52 11. Too few of the best teachers teach in the most challenging schools, and too many of those who do subsequently leave. The highest performing systems in PISA (eg Finland) have much less between-school variability,so that challenging pupils are less concentrated in a few institutions. However given that between- school variability in England is likely to persist we need to be more imaginative in policy terms. There is little evidence that salary-based solutions alone will work. Consideration might be given to teacher education- based models deriving from the Chicago and Boston teacher residency schemes that oVer teachers in challenging schools continued access to high quality support. Universities could help to provide this by developing strong partnerships with such schools.53

D. The Delivery of ITE Innovation and diversity 1. The current ITE system is not designed to encourage innovation and diversity, but to ensure that there are adequate numbers of new teachers to deliver the national curriculum. This means that current ITE largely reproduces our existing structures, with little innovative power. The current structure for allocations, accreditation and partnership largely embeds reproduction.

Higher education and partnership 2. Higher education institutions provide economies of scale in recruiting, training and assessing students as well as eVective quality assurance. They equip new teachers with new knowledge and access to research on teaching and learning; teachers read more extensively during their ITE than at any other point in their career. The potential to be derived from linking HEIs to the most innovative schools has not been realised. 3. England is distinctive internationally in the extent to which it has moved towards partnership as a base for the delivery of ITE. There is no extensive appetite to unwind partnership but it needs to be reconceptualised. International evidence indicates that eVective ITE depends on close relationships between higher education and schools.54 Neither can work successfully without the other. Our experience, and wider research evidence would suggest that there is a powerful case for placing partnership on a more formal footing to provide a more coherent focus on quality and innovation. 4. Partnerships, especially in urban areas, are very fragile. The Institute’s experience in London crystallises the issues: there are a large number of university providers and a signiﬁcant number of schools facing challenging circumstances. In principle, this provides a rich training experience but in practice, competition for placements, and high turnover of school staV often mean that schools pull out of oVering placements for ITE at short notice or there is no continuity from year to year. Currently, there is no requirement on schools to participate in partnerships although there is a requirement on higher education to work in partnership with schools. This produces a lop-sided relationship. Since 1992, HE institutions have been required to transfer funds to schools to meet some of the in-school costs of training, but in fragile partnerships it is diYcult to exercise eVective control over the disbursement of this money. More eVective models for partnership need to be explored. 5. Although “training schools” have now become established, they have, rather curiously, not been well embedded in ITE partnerships: higher education plays no part in identifying training schools, and training schools are not necessarily exemplars of good practice. The potential of training schools would be maximised if higher education were involved in their identiﬁcation and development. The early studies of the Oxford Internship Scheme demonstrated the immense power of involving schools, individual school departments and higher education in a stable training model.55 6. Whilst schools have been extensively involved in the delivery of the “practicum” component of partnership, they have remained junior partners in ITE;56 even in SCITTs57 ITE has not been developed as a key element in school improvement. A possible solution would be to make it impossible for schools to secure the highest Ofsted grades if they were not involved in partnerships for ITE and on-going education for their teaching staV.

52 Galton, M & MacBeath, J (2008) Teachers under pressure London: Sage with the NUT, p 79. 53 This could be linked to William Atkinson’s “Marshall Plan” for “schools in exceptionally challenging circumstances” in this country which include class sizes of less than 20, involvement of a range of professionals including social workers and psychologists, better parental engagement and family support; see Atkinson, W (2006) “A loss of courage, will and faith”, The Guardian, Tuesday 17 January 2006. 54 Bills, L, Briggs, M, Browne, A, Gillespie, H, Gordon, J, Husbands, C, Phillips, E, Still, C & Swatton, P (2008) International Perspectives on Quality in Initial Teacher Education: An Exploratory Review of Selected International Documentation on Statutory Requirements and Quality Assurance, in: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London; Gopinathan, S., et al (2008) Transforming Teacher Education , p 90. 55 Benton, P, (1990) The Oxford Internship Scheme (London: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation). 56 J Furlong, L Barton, S Miles, C Whiting and G Whitty (2000) Teacher Education in Transition: reforming professionalism? (Open University Press). 57 ie School-Centred Initial Teacher Training Consortia. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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Development opportunities for staV involved in ITE 7. Opportunities for teachers involved in ITE vary.In all schools, ITE depends on “mentors”—classroom teachers who provide support to trainees on placement in school. The experience of being a mentor is a career-stage, often undertaken by teachers with three to ﬁve years’ experience, and something from which such teachers move on. Mentor training is provided by HEIs, but there is no compulsion on mentors to attend and training is much less extensive than for, say, GP trainers in medical education. There has been some use of ASTs58 to support ITE, but this has been patchy and, partly because of the relative instability of partnership relationships described above, the work of ASTs is not well-integrated into ITE. Seconded participation in ITE by experienced and successful teachers is recognised as an outstanding exemplar of CPD. 8. Development opportunities for ITE staV in HEIs are more complex. Although ITE staV are fully integrated members of the university workforce, some performance indicators in HE are diYcult for ITE staV: ITE courses are typically 36–40 weeks in length (the length of a school year) and the demands of ITE can make it diYcult for staV to develop research proﬁles which would enable them to secure HE promotion. Work needs to be done to provide structures for HEI staV which valorise their teaching and outreach work with schools. Attempts to develop the sort of staYng structure which the best medical schools have, with a strong “teaching consultant” cadre have so far been unsuccessful, but a more coherent framework would open up more exciting career possibilities.

The role of educational research 9. Progress has been made in developing the role of educational research in informing ITE provision, not least as a result of TLRP59 which has produced a series of projects focused directly on teaching and learning. There are some challenges to embedding research into ITE provision. Firstly, much ITE provision is located in departments which are relatively lowly graded in the RAE, and even in higher rated institutions, demands on ITE tutors make it diYcult for them to be active researchers. Secondly, the thrust of ITE reform over the last twenty years has been to enhance the practical at the expense of the theoretical and reﬂective.60 This has produced important advances, which should not be understated but makes it more diYcult to ensure that teaching is a genuinely research-based profession. There are some solutions to this in hand which might work: in particular the development of Masters level credits in PGCE courses that require students to read more extensively, although it further isolates the BEd, and may create an unhelpful hierarchy between diVerent training routes. Additionally,there is good evidence that “reading” and “thinking” are not activities conﬁned to higher education, and that the best schools provide rich learning environments with engagement in research. The teacher-researcher movement has had an impact, and could be made more productive with sustained support from HE.

D. CPD Provision 1. Induction61 is not mentioned in the terms of reference but it is unhelpful to think in terms of a model which assumes that teacher preparation is complete after one year. The best induction programmes allow NQTs to work together with those in other schools and in other disciplines, and thus cannot be wholly managed in-school. 2. We have already argued that there is a need to attract higher quality entrants into the teaching profession, but this will take time and thus have only a limited short term impact. If we are serious about improving educational outcomes for young people, this has to be through investment in teacher development. Currently however continuing professional development lacks coherence and focus: it is often an afterthought in school development planning, and there is no quality guarantee.62 Rather, there is a patchwork of provision by local authorities, HEIs and private (often very small scale) consultancies. The proportion of teacher time devoted to CPD in England is lower than in high performing school systems.63 However, CPD that gives access to research has been shown64 to signiﬁcantly raise teacher eVectiveness, morale and commitment. The proposed Masters in Teaching and Learning could help to structure early career development and has the potential to produce productive relationships between schools and higher education. However, the challenge of turning a profession in which only a small number of current practitioners have a Masters qualiﬁcation into a Masters-level profession—aligned with the best in the world—is considerable. If government is serious about its aspirations for a world-class education system

58 ie Advanced Skills Teachers. 59 Teaching and Learning Research Programme—as before. 60 Furlong, J (2005) “New Labour and teacher education: the end of an era” Oxford Review of Education, 31,1,pp119–134. 61 Induction: Newly Qualified Teachers, ie those in their first teaching post, are entitled to a reduced teaching load as well as school-based and perhaps local authority based training as part of their on-going education and development as teachers. There is evidence however that some NQTs are not receiving this statutory entitlement. See: Hobson, A, et al (2007) Newly Qualified Teachers’ Experiences of their First Year of Teaching: Findings from Phase III of the “Becoming a Teacher” (London, DCSF RR0008). 62 Ofsted (2006) The logical chain: continuing professional development in eVective schools. 63 School Teachers Review Body (2007): Teachers’ Workload Diary Survey http://www.ome.uk.com/downloads/ 2007%20Teachers%20Report%20FINAL.pdf 64 Hargreaves L, et al (2007) Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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staVed by a Masters-level teaching workforce, it will need fundamentally to re-think the career structure for teachers and build in both an entitlement and an obligation to on-going study—as is, for example, the case for medical general practitioners.

E. Conclusion 1. ITE has made progress in the last twenty years, but there remain serious concerns about the overall quality of entrants and the ﬁtness for purpose of ITE for a radically changing school system. International evidence would suggest that we not only need to raise the quality of applicants but, perhaps more importantly, also establish university-school partnerships on a more robust basis to ensure a strong commitment to linking initial preparation, induction and early career development as well as on-going teacher learning in order to secure a world-class education system. 2. Much of the policy discourse in the ﬁeld fails to comprehend the complexity and demands on the teaching profession in the 21st century. Throughout the twentieth century, while the economy largely demanded low-skill levels from most workers and high skills from a few, it was enough to train and retain teachers of average quality. In the 21st century, this is a recipe for failure. We need to engineer improvement at a much more rapid pace and with a commitment to research-based professional learning if we are to develop the teaching profession we need. February 2009

Witnesses: Keith Bartley, Chief Executive, General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), Professor Sonia Blandford, Director of Leadership Development, Teach First, Professor Chris Husbands, Dean, Faculty of Culture and Pedagogy, Institute of Education, University of London and Professor Roger Woods, Chair, Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET),1 gave evidence.

Q58 Chairman: I welcome Professor Sonia eight core competencies, which I shall go into detail Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands, Keith Bartley about later, if asked. Those value-based and Professor Roger Woods to our session. Is it all competencies are absolutely essential to excellence in right to revert to ﬁrst name terms, not titles? I am teaching. My third point is that, since the creation of afraid that that works for everyone except me, whom Teach First, which began its life in 2001 and started you have to call “Chairman”. Such a system eases up its ﬁrst core programme in 2003, as an organisation proceedings. As you know, we have knights of the it constantly re-evaluates the principles for realm and Lords here, and using titles clutters up the recruitment and the content of ITT and CPD to whole discourse. This inquiry is very important. We ensure that we have quality assurance measures go for the building blocks of education reform. As completely at the core of our work. We aim to better you know, we have reported on testing and what we do year on year. Finally, we are working in assessment. We have now published our national partnership with a number of agencies, including the curriculum review. We are now into the public Institute of Education represented by my colleague accountability inspection review and we regard the on the left, to appreciate the context in which training of teachers as being an important part of teachers are working. Agencies such as universities that. We are early into the inquiry and, given your have a clear understanding and knowledge of initial great store of knowledge, I know that we shall learn teacher training in the school context. We also work a great deal from the four of you this afternoon. We in a unique way with businesses, and we shall be normally ask witnesses if they would like to make a working in the future across phases from early years brief opening statement. If they do not want to do to further education. that and wish to go straight into questions, that is Professor Husbands: I am wearing at least two hats. okay, too. What is your preference, Sonia? I am a member of staV at the Institute of Education, Professor Blandford: Thank you very much, Chair. I which in many ways is the lead provider of initial have several points to make. I am here to represent teacher training education in London. We train Teach First in the context of initial teacher training primary, secondary and FE teachers. We work with and also in the context of continuing professional and supply teachers to an exceptionally diverse development. As probably most people in the room range of schools across London and the south-east. are aware, Teach First is a mission-driven We are a provider of initial teacher training organisation aiming to address educational education on a considerable scale and we are a disadvantage. Our mission-driven programme wholly postgraduate provider, as many schools are. focuses on specialist training. Our aim is to recruit Perhaps we can talk a little later about postgraduate the best and the most committed to learn from the in relation to undergraduate teacher training best. Teach First is located entirely in the Urban education. I am a board member of the Training and Challenge schools. My second point is that, in being Development Agency for Schools, which is the non- mission-driven, Teach First is dedicated to selecting departmental public body responsible for the participants—as we call them—to teacher training funding of initial and continuing teacher education in order to evaluate their values. Our selection in England. From both the IOE and the TDA process is entirely driven by values. We assess against perspective, we can look at substantial achievements in initial teacher education over the past 15 years 1 See written evidence from UCET: Ev 11 that have been the result of eVective partnerships Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods between schools and higher education providers. the BEd route or whether they have come in through The quality of teacher education is crucially one of the other routes. I cannot give you a definitive dependent on the quality of those relationships. answer, but I can say that every year we train a high However, the demands facing teachers are growing number of teachers whom we do not recycle. One in complexity and we need to be able to reappraise relevant observation that I should like to make is the basis on which we construct teacher education as that at the moment, 77% of new entrants to the we move forward. profession are women. The average age of entry is Keith Bartley: Individual entrants to the teaching just below 30. Inevitably, some of those women will profession bring with them a great variety of skills, be taking career breaks quite early in their service as prior experience, motivations, aptitudes and teachers. Therefore, there are things that might academic achievement. Whatever mix they bring, explain that demographic, but nevertheless it is quite they will benefit from rigorous core preparation, a high one. classroom practice and an understanding of Professor Woods: I am chair of the Universities pedagogy. The quality of that preparation and the Council for the Education of Teachers. I hope that I sound assessment of the outcome of that have some view of the HE sector on training. I preparation appear to be key. The McKinsey report should like to oVer three points of clarification. The of 2007 documented that England has diversified its first is the issue of what is seen to be theory in higher routes into teaching more than any other country. education. I think that a reading of some key Initial training varies from zero months to four contributions going back to the ’80s, which, years, and there is much good practice within that crucially, are included in the Policy Exchange diversity from which we can learn, whether it be the document More Good Teachers, gives an incorrect high-quality six-week residential programmes impression of the nature of university courses. I oVered by Teach First or the more extended should like to explain that. University courses could programmes of study and teaching practice oVered seem, from the reading of such literature, to be by our leading teacher education institutions. irrelevant. Page 7 of the document, for instance, Nevertheless, one of the introductory comments that states: “Practical training in schools is more valuable I should like to make is that training alone is not than theory learnt in a lecture hall.” I am sure that Y su cient. There is some relationship that needs to be we are all familiar with that sort of point but understood between Ofsted’s statement that these sentences such as that imply that higher education are the best trained entrants to the profession that we concentrates its eVorts on promoting less-than- have ever had—they are also probably the highest- relevant theory in lecture halls. Some of that may qualified entrants to the profession that we have ever occur, but it is a travesty of the position that I know had—and the evidence that comes from teachers in as an experienced teacher-educator, and that found the early years of their careers about how they often by Ofsted through its inspections. Some lack confidence in managing behaviour in the transmission of knowledge goes on as much in classroom, conducting relationships with other lecture halls as over the web. How else would trainee adults and supporting children with special teachers learn about the nature of special educational needs. It is important that we do not educational needs? With regard to syndromes such treat teacher training in isolation from the induction as autism, for instance, there has to be the period that follows. We must recognise that new transmission of knowledge. Trainees are told or read teachers require sustained support and investment about the research underpinning the national beyond their training and induction and throughout strategies—the Rose report or the Williams report— their careers. The quality of teaching practice, so it is not irrelevant theory; it is not even something placements and the skill and commitment of school- that you could simply label as theory. Much more based mentors is vital in sustaining the motivation of than knowledge transmission takes place in trainees to make a successful entrance into teaching. institutions: there are workshops, demonstration I hope that the Committee will examine the issue in lessons, video snapshots of practice and some depth and make recommendations that help to opportunities for teachers to try out lessons in their strengthen the partnerships between schools and subject or, if they are primary teaching, in a range of higher education institutions to encourage more subjects. They are among the important factors that schools to oVer high-quality placements, to ensure lead to the position where Ofsted praises the nature that gaps in knowledge and confidence are not of the training that is given. I am sure that we can do glossed over but addressed systematically. My final it better. There are things that we are learning from point is to observe that we still have quite a poor Teach First, for instance, on the nature of an record in retaining teachers beyond their first five intensive course. I want to stress that the higher years in practice. The figure varies from year to year, but between 60% and two thirds are retained five education sector is not simply dealing in redundant theory, and that the practice that happens in school years after completing their training. We know that V Teach First has some very high retention figures. is the stu that is the real meat of training. Secondly, I want to stress the crucial diVerence between primary and secondary training. There is a tendency Q59 Chairman: How does that compare with other to treat all training as if it were the same, yet the professions? natures of the two jobs—primary teaching and Keith Bartley: The comparisons are complex secondary teaching—are extremely diVerent. We because, in terms of initial postgraduate training, it need to be extremely clear about that, especially depends on whether someone has trained through when we are considering something as radical as a Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods possible end to undergraduate training, which qualification for teaching. I would keep some sort of includes, almost entirely, primary teachers. In fact, undergraduate provision for training in relation to on that point—I suspect that we will come to this the wider children’s work force, but by and large the presently—it is widely acknowledged in primary argument in relation to teacher education seems to schools that those entering the profession through me increasingly to be resolved in favour of an undergraduate route are better prepared in the postgraduate. immediate term than those entering through a postgraduate route. Finally,there is much concern— Q61 Chairman: Far be it from me to impugn your rightly so—with school partnerships. It is absolutely motives, but you are not thinking of insinuating correct and it is vital that, in any reconfiguration of educational or social pedagogues as a replacement, the way in which we train our teachers, we ensure are you? Is that the sort of model you are that the best practice from school-based training and articulating? from employment-based routes permeates the whole Professor Husbands: I am not an expert on social sector. It is vital that schools—probably all pedagogues, but we are opening up a wider range of schools—see the training and development of future employment opportunities in and around the generations of teachers as a prime responsibility. children’s work force. We are increasingly professionalising those groups, and a broadly based education-type childhood-specific degree as the Q60 Chairman: Thank you for warming us all up with those initial responses. Can I open up the basis for training the wider work force looks pretty questions. To warm ourselves up for this inquiry, the sensible, but the vocational preparation of teachers Committee, while we were looking at another topic is, for me, much better done, for primary and in Ontario, looked at the training of teachers. Of secondary, through postgraduate training, leading course, what is remarkable about Ontario is that into continued support through continuing there is just one way of coming into teaching. It is professional development. pretty much about the relationship with the higher education sector and one teaching trade union. That Q62 Chairman: Keith, the traditional criticism of oVers a very distinct comparison to the rather teachers was often that they had no experience of the diverse situation in our own country, so it was all outside world—the world outside teaching. They very good stuV for us. When I think about it, I realise went through school, went to college and university that there are three main routes through which we and got a teaching qualification, and did not have train teachers. You just described them. Which is the any other experience at all. Was that a valid best one? criticism? Is that what all the changes are about Professor Husbands: You can say some things about partly? advantages and disadvantages, but I think that one Keith Bartley: I do not think it is what all the changes of the things that we have done over the past 10 years are about, but I know that we are seeing quite a shift with considerable success is open a variety of routes in terms of entry into the profession now. Trainees so that many of the previous barriers to entry to the are coming in with much more varied experience profession, particularly regarding certain groups of than would have been the case, say, 20 or 30 years people based on their geographical position and ago. Certainly when I trained, it was very much— previous experience in the labour market, have largely been removed. Managed diversity is one of Q63 Chairman: That is good, isn’t it? the strengths of provision in England. I am pretty Keith Bartley: The diversity that I talked about in comfortable with a mixed market, but one that is my preamble in terms of entrants to the profession is working to a common set of standards and to be welcomed and celebrated, and is matched on expectations, which is what schools need to the other side by some very diverse settings in which guarantee quality of intake. It seems to me entirely those teachers will practise. I would go back to a reasonable that graduate teacher programme point of principle here and say that we believe that employment-based routes, which are very useful for all teachers should be supported to become research- bringing into the profession people in mid-career, informed practitioners. That is the key to keeping who cannot take career breaks, have played a part. the teaching work force regenerated and keeping it It is equally clear that postgraduate certificate in moving ahead. Therefore, trainee teachers need to education routes, as a way in mainly, although not learn within a culture of research in education in entirely, for relatively recent graduates, are order to understand the value of research-informed absolutely critical as the bedrock of the system. I practice. That, to me, would be more important than have to say I do not entirely agree with Roger’s necessarily distinguishing between the diVerent comments about undergraduate teacher education. types of prior experience that teachers had. In all sorts of ways, undergraduate teacher education, which is now almost entirely primary, Q64 Chairman: Roger, Chris does not agree with one should—I hope we said this in the Institute’s of the points you made in your opening remarks. submission—have some serious question marks What is your response to him? over it. There are issues about the BEd as a Professor Woods: It is becoming less and less qualification. It only qualifies people to teach—it fashionable to support the undergraduate teacher does not give them access to a wider labour market if route, so I am not at all surprised that Chris does not they subsequently change their mind—so one of the agree with me, and I do think that it needs to be things that I would now question is the BEd as a looked at carefully. However, I think that I am Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 59

20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods probably the only teacher trainer in the room with and Gamble, or wherever. On the one hand, there current experience of undergraduate primary was something in it for blue chip companies and training routes. I would say that we need a bit more there was something in it for the graduate who was evidence before we criticise it out of existence.2 going into the company. Much is made of things like the A-level points tariV, Professor Blandford: The history of Teach First is for instance. Is it right that we are training a that it began as a research project that McKinsey profession of not very well-qualified people? I would carried out pro bono for Business in the Community look very carefully at that, but I do not think that and London First. As has subsequently been borne that is the position. The position has changed. Over out by Michael Barber’s recent study, it found that the last 20 years the terminology has changed. We schools in London and other cities required strong talk about the BEd, but there are very few BEds leadership and strongly motivated pupils to address named as such in the country. Most universities educational disadvantage. I am cutting a long study renamed their undergraduate primary training as very short, into a couple of sentences. As a BA with qualified teacher status. It is a small consequence of that, the Teacher Training Agency— presentational ploy but it signifies something of the now the Training and Development Agency— way in which undergraduate training has widened supported what is now the Teach First route into itself. Finally, you cannot win in my position. If we teaching. It focuses on the standards elements that train only in the teaching, we are criticised because have been mentioned and on creating leadership. we do not oVer the wider world that another degree The sponsorship allows that extra layer of the would oVer. Teach First has demonstrated the training, which is not entirely focused on business. In capacity that working in schools with people has for fact, most of it is focused on creating a maximum developing leadership skills, albeit with outstanding impact in schools. The emphasis is on schools and candidates that most of us running BEds or BAs pupils. We are in a position where, of the 2006 cohort with qualified teacher status would not have. that qualified in 2008, 63% remained in teaching. Nevertheless, it shows that you get a lot more than This is a success of 97% actually going through the simply learning to teach from an undergraduate programme. A significant number of people who route. enter the programme now continue in schools and Chairman: Chris, you look like you want to come have taken up middle leadership and senior back and then I will move on. leadership positions within the schools. The Professor Husbands: I just want to say I am pleased emphasis has always been on addressing educational that we are talking about the primary experience. disadvantage. The win-win for the businesses has The average age of our postgraduate trainees at been that, in terms of their corporate social entry is almost 30. Therefore, a significant number responsibility, they can see that there is a benefit to are on their second or third career. That is not the society which they inhabit, whether that has a unusual in schools of education. global, local, regional or national emphasis. The other benefit, as you have alluded to, is that some of Q65 Chairman: Sonia, you have great knowledge of those people may then go into some of those this area because you started oV trying to recruit very companies. The actual balance has always been bright people. Has the mission of Teach First around 50-50. It is now more 60-40 and probably changed from when it started? this year will be 70-30. That is not entirely driven by Professor Blandford: No. the credit crunch; it is driven by the success of the people in the schools. Q66 Chairman: You said that you were mission- driven. I was hopeful that most policy was mission- Q68 Chairman: Some of us on the previous driven, with missions to educate children better or Committee went to Los Angeles and looked at have better-trained teachers. Why did you single Centre X at UCLA where they actually train your group out as being mission-based as though graduates who want to work in the most challenging you are some sort of exclusive set? schools in Los Angeles. They keep them together as Professor Blandford: I think it is because the Teach teams, motivate them, bring them back to base, do First mission has not changed at all since its outset. all sorts, and put them in groups into schools. Was The programme is and was there to address that part of the research and good practice that you educational disadvantage, while creating leaders for looked at? all fields. The specific nature of addressing Professor Blandford: I think it is part of the research educational disadvantage is singular to Teach First that has happened subsequently.The initial research, within the initial teacher training sector. There is also as I said, was carried out by McKinsey. It focused an emphasis on leadership, as we have heard from entirely on what was needed within the UK, and colleagues here. looked at Ofsted reports. There was some influence of Teach for America, which has been around for 18 Q67 Chairman: But I thought that at first it was not years. It established putting cohorts into schools, planned as a route into teaching. It was something which is exactly what Teach First does. It looks for that it was rather good for blue chip companies to be a minimum of two and hopefully four people going involved in. They guaranteed that if an applicant did at any one time into a school, in order to get that the two years, they would be received into Procter cadre of support among themselves but also to increase the mentor support, which has also been 2 See Ev 75–76 mentioned by colleagues. The emphasis has always Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Ev 60 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods been on groups going into schools and providing Q71 Chairman: Pretty tough, isn’t it? that level of support to enable them to succeed. I Professor Woods: My institution has just moved to think that has been a particularly strong point in asking for three Bs at A-level, for undergraduates— Teach First. But the model was very much a hybrid it has not, so far. I think where the diVerence lies is of the employment-based route and what was there the number of applicants for Teach First, and how in terms of the postgraduate certificate in education. Teach First can select from an already bright and Just to clarify a point that was made earlier, Teach highly motivated field, which other PGCEs might First is actually a 13-month programme. It is not a not be able to. I would not compare Teach First with six-week programme. It begins with an intensive six- undergraduates. week residential, which is something that we would Chairman: Okay, it is probably an unfair support all routes into teaching having a look at in comparison. terms of adopting that as a very good way of starting Professor Husbands: I think it is an unfair initial teacher training. It then has intensive support comparison. The key issue, to which I think Teach by weekly visits by higher education tutors who are First oVers us one really interesting answer, is how to deeply rooted in research, deeply rooted in practice, attract really good people to teach in really diYcult, and are able to bring that research knowledge in an challenging schools. To me that seems to be a applied way to the practice, and to support the combination of some things that we could start to people in the schools. It is done entirely in pull out, to begin to combine in some interesting partnership with universities. Going back to your ways. It is about attracting good people, giving them question about Los Angeles, there is also the good support, extending that support consistently Chicago model, the Boston model, the Knowledge is over time and ensuring that that support does not go Power Program schools and the work of Teach for away at the end of the very early periods of training. America. Clearly since we started we have looked at So, quality of people, quality of support and nature those models. We have taken from those the good of focus—those are the things that we ought to practice, and we are informing our practice. Year on embed if we really want to deliver good people into year we review what we do. It is standard practice for challenging schools. initial teacher training. Over the past 15 years we Chairman: My colleagues are waiting to drill down have been through Ofsted, and through other on this question. mechanisms that we have been reviewing anyway. But we take very clear notice, as a benchmark, of what is happening elsewhere. Clearly in America Q72 Mr Heppell: It seems to me that what you are there is this whole business of bringing people doing is trying to get the best people to go in for together as a team, as a corps. That is something that Teach First training, but it is what happens after that we have been emphasising since day one. But I that interests us. When I look at the statistics—mine would not say it is particular to any one model that might be slightly older than yours—they show that was in existence prior to Teach First. initial drop-out is less for Teach First than it is for the average, across-the-board teacher training. However, after two years’ training, my figures say The qualifications that you need to Q69 Chairman: that 50% drop out. You said that the figure is get on to Teach First are astoundingly diVerent from changing—I think you said that 63% are staying the qualifications you need to get on to a first degree on—but that is still below the average. It seems to me in teaching, aren’t they? that we are giving extra training to people who then Professor Blandford: Yes. do not stay on. I am wondering how many people, There is a quite extraordinary gap. Roger, Chairman: who have done Teach First, are still teaching. If you with the best will in the world, there is a vast gap take the average for all the rest, about 30% drop out between what is being asked for to get on to Teach towards the end of their training. In five years, only First, and what an average university asks for to get a third of teachers have stopped teaching in schools. into its department to do a three-year degree. What would be the figure for Teach First after four Professor Woods: I do not think it is as big a gap as or five years? you might think. There are diVerent methods of selection, but it would be rare for university Professor Blandford: Hopefully the same, because departments to accept people without a good degree. we are increasing the number of people who are staying in schools. What I did not mention is that we also have a number of people who have left teaching, Q70 Chairman: I was thinking about your gone into other places of work—this echoes the undergraduates. You were championing the Chair’s comment—and then come back into undergraduate route, were you not? teaching, as a result of being Ambassadors of Teach Professor Woods: Absolutely. For undergraduates, I First and staying true to the mission in supporting do not see that you can compare the two. educational disadvantage. So while at the moment Chairman: If you are going to Teach First, they want the figure is 63%, a number of those people are three Bs at A-level— coming back into the profession—I do not have a Professor Blandford: We want three very good pass specific figure, but we could provide that if you grades and a 2.1 or first-class degree to get on to the request it. We are able, with confidence, to say that programme, plus going through the rigorous people may leave for one or two years but, having selection process against Teach First’s 8 key worked in Urban Challenge schools, they are now competencies. coming back. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods

Q73 Mr Heppell: Do you have any figures for that? been mentioned, or through business-school Professor Blandford: No, but we can provide them. partnerships. Again, if you would like, we could A specific example is Max Haimendorf, who is now provide detailed evidence to support that.4 a head teacher. He left teaching after two years, went to work for a company—a management In terms of encouraging some of consultancy—but he has now come back as a head Q75 Mr Heppell: the brightest people to go into teaching, has the idea teacher. He has the dual experience. So the emphasis of six months’ training been ruled out altogether? is always on retaining the contact with schools. The Nowadays, because of the economy, you see emphasis is in the workplace, whether in schools, comments about an employment scheme for through coaching people in schools, through unemployed bankers. But it is also said that that is support as governors or through other mechanisms. just something that somebody has drawn up on the The focus of the Teach First ambassadors, the back of a fag packet, and it could not be done—it is alumni, is still very much on schools, and providing impossible. However, if some of the people we are that focus within their communities. Many of them talking about are supposedly the brightest in the stay in the cities where they have trained. Again, we land, is it not possible that they could train to teach 3 can provide figures for that involvement. in a shorter period? Is that idea being dismissed out Chairman: Keith wanted to come in to answer that of hand before it has been examined properly? point. Professor Woods: No, I do not think that it is being Keith Bartley: Yes, to pick up on the issue of what we dismissed out of hand; it is still a viable proposition. compare with what, perhaps I can give some very When it establishes itself—I think, Sonia, that Teach broad-brush figures. Every year, in the region of Next is the likely step—there will certainly be 40,000 individuals embark on teacher training. extraordinary, talented individuals, as there are Some 33,000 of them will achieve qualified teacher already in the graduate teacher programme, who status. Some 26,000 or 27,000 of them will complete achieve standards within that period. The press were their induction year. If you go back to that initial fairly rough on it, and that was unfortunate, because figure of 40,000 people who started their training, the suggestion is not that we move simply to six- the retention rates in Teach First are very high month training across the board. because there is much less drop-out from starting Professor Blandford: The important point is that we training to achieving qualified teacher status. have the connection between initial teacher training and CPD and that we have ongoing support through the mentors in the schools. It would not be eVective if it was seen as condensing the standards and the Of the Teach First trainees who Q74 Mr Heppell: outcomes. It would be eVective if you could see it as remain in teaching—whether it is 50%, as I thought the residential element with support from it was, or 63%—how many do not stay in the universities, and then continued support for the maintained sector but go to the independent sector? trainees—or participants, as we call them—in There is certainly anecdotal evidence that that schools, but with greater emphasis on the training of happens. I have a slight worry that people might see the mentors in those schools. We do not want a Teach First as a good route for their careers, both hybrid system that relies on people who perhaps inside and outside teaching. It is nice to have on your themselves are failing in the schools. We in Teach CV that you did this for a couple of years—it is First emphasise the need to train the mentors in the almost like doing voluntary work overseas. It is like schools to be able to provide that additional support V saying, “I did this to kick o with.” It is a great thing, on a day-to-day basis, but without losing contact and I would love to have it on my CV to present to with the universities, so that the latter have quite an a future employer. How many people disappear into extensive input into the CPD. It is a reshaping of the the independent sector four years after their model, rather than a reduction of the training training? period. Professor Blandford: A handful go into the private Professor Husbands: The important thing is this sector. It is obviously not something that we would being spun as training that, if you like, begins on 1 encourage in Teach First. In the most recent figures, January and concludes on 30 June—a discrete six- 49% of those people who have trained remain in month training—because that is entirely at odds challenging schools—in the Urban Challenge with the way in which we are asking schools and schools. We are talking about the most diYcult teachers to think about their engagement with schools that anybody could be in. So 49% remain in professional development. We are talking now about the challenging schools, and 11% remain in other initial teacher training being the first stage of schools. It is merely a handful who have gone into something that continues through CPD. The more the private sector. The recruitment process is you talk about the six-month training, the more it absolutely focused on addressing educational cuts across the way that we are thinking about disadvantage, and many of our people who have relationships. It is certainly possible, as someone gone on to other vocations stay in contact with that said, to restructure some provision, so that there is mission: 68% of those who have left teaching are something up front that provides a basis for really engaged in schools in one form or another, either good people who can then progress quickly. through coaching, through being a governor, as has However, my understanding is that, according to

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Ev 62 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods research evidence, for high-fliers thinking about a describe how that should be built into the training career change, the disincentive is not the engagement programme? Who is providing the support? How with the training, but the lack of a guarantee of a much would it be? How would it play out during the teaching post at the end of it. If you can link together course of the year? some provision for intensive training with ongoing Professor Husbands: Although Teach First is a very support into employment, you can do something distinctive brand and has tweaked elements of really quite interesting. mainstream teacher education models, separately it is not wildly diVerent from an enormous number of Q76 Chairman: Keith, when you opened, you said things that are going on anyway. When I talk about that training ranges from nought to four years. What ongoing support I mean both in-school and out-of- was the nought? I think that we need to know that. school support. At the end of the one-year PGCE it Keith Bartley: I meant the graduate training is like falling oV the end of a cliV—you are supported programmes—in other words, programmes where in one way during your training; you are supported you can go straight into an internship. That is in a diVerent way during induction. From the relevant to a couple of points that I was about to evidence we have the induction is pretty variable. make. First, I want to pick up on, and remind There are some local authorities where it is very good ourselves of, what McKinsey told us, which was that and some where it is very weak. One of the things I intensive routes absolutely depend on selecting from would want us to think about is whether we can the top quartile. That is about combining academic begin to break that down. The proposed masters in ability with personal qualities, especially in terms of teaching and learning may give us a lever for relationships, communication and motivation to breaking that down so that we begin to build teach. We need that blend to understand what top support. The evidence that Barry has already talked quality means, if we are to embark on a supported, about from the States is that what encourages intensive route. My second point is that what really teachers to stay in the profession and particularly to matters is following through with support and stay in some of the more challenging schools is as structured development in the early years of much to do with the quality of support that they practice. It is key, therefore, as Sonia has said receive as it is to do with things such as salary and already, to concentrate on the role of the mentor in so on. I would work really hard on the quality of the schools and the support that teachers are oVered. relationship between higher education institutions Those teachers who come in with very limited and mentors in schools—the quality of support preparation need very high-quality support to during training—and then on building bridges engage with both their practice and the research that between training and the other years of practice. should underpin it. Keith Bartley: I would completely support that but would make one other observation, which is that at the moment when a trainee completes training and You have almost anticipated my Q77 Mr Heppell: achieves qualified teacher status, the expectation is next question. The best systems that we have seen that they will go on to satisfactorily complete their coming out of international surveys suggest that we induction year. As Chris says, there is increasing get the best results where the teachers come from the evidence of real inconsistencies in the experience that top 10%—I think that we draw from the top 35 to teachers have during their induction year. One 40%. Do you think that the six-month thing will solution that we would oVer is that there should be mean a significant increase? Will it take us nearer full registration with the General Teaching Council that 10% figure? Chris has already said that one as a fully qualified practising teacher only once the thing that would help to persuade the best people to core standard has been met, so that we link qualified enter teaching is the provision of additional support teacher status to completing satisfactory training, after six months, but can you think of anything else but we say that a teacher does not become fully that would persuade people to enter teaching? registered as a practitioner until they prove that they Keith Bartley: May I say very quickly that the status have met the core standard. That may sound like of the profession itself is key. This is not about the semantics but I think it would have quite a people coming in, but the esteem in which the profound eVect. profession is held and how it is treated, and the extent to which a profession that we know is very highly trusted by the general public becomes a Q79 Mr Chaytor: In terms of this question of profession that is highly respected more widely by support both during the training and induction the public for the expertise that it brings. I think that periods, what is preventing a higher level of support? the status of the profession is key. Is it just a question of money or is it willingness of individual schools? What is needed to make this Q78 Mr Chaytor: The 2008 review by Ofsted of better? Teach First suggested that many of the lessons that Professor Husbands: It is a combination of things. In have been learned by Teach First could be extended most cases, individuals are not employed during to mainstream teacher training. I would like to ask training but they are employed during induction, so Chris and Keith particularly, what are the key the funding streams for support are quite diVerent. lessons? Chris, earlier you listed the importance of Professor Blandford: I want just to build on the high-quality applicants. That by definition cannot responses thus far. In order to make teaching necessarily be transferred. You talked about attractive, one of the things that Teach First has ongoing support. What does that mean? Can you done—I return to the mission and the value base— Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 63

20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods is make it absolutely clear that the values become the Professor Husbands: Sonia is both right and wrong. competencies that are transferable to other There is no doubt that Teach First has attracted workplaces. Clearly, what we are focusing on—as people who would not have otherwise come in. It is well as addressing educational disadvantage—is the also true that as Teach First has grown it has begun notion of leadership. In my mind, there is no reason to impact and to draw people who would have why programmes should not focus on other areas, applied to PGCE more conventionally. That is an such as particular subject areas, but move into issue, obviously, for us as a major provider, although advanced skills status in the induction year. Teach we have a close relationship with Teach First. So, I First oVers a two-year programme. It is not just the do not disagree with that. It has brought in people 13 months of the QTS, it is two years. We already who would not have otherwise come in and that is a have that connection between initial teacher training plus, but it has also begun to impact incrementally. and continuing professional development, with a particular emphasis on leadership, on which Teach Q82 Mr Chaytor: It would be useful to have a First has always focused. We also involve a whole breakdown of the Teach First applicants and range of employers in the training. People in the subsequent progression routes as well, because all world of business are involved in training: people this information has to be available now as a from major corporates and the public and not-for- programme. profit sectors. These are highly successful people Professor Blandford: Yes, we can provide that for involved in training the participants as they go you.5 through the two-year programme, in addition to the very intensive support they continue to receive from Q83 Mr Chaytor: May I come back to the question universities and from the schools themselves. So we of support and challenging schools. Chris, you have built into the programme this notion of mentioned earlier the masters in teaching and continuity from initial teacher training through to learning, and perhaps I could ask Roger who is CPD. We are just about to embark on a new masters responsible for this? What stage of development is it in educational leadership, which is supported by at and is there scope here for preparing potential three major universities in England: the Institute of trainers better for work in challenging schools? Education, Warwick and Manchester. This will Professor Husbands: Shall I lead on that? As I said focus on educational leadership, because as well as at the beginning, I am a TDA board member and the the diYculty of retaining teachers in the classroom, TDA is leading on the development of the MTL. It we all know that there is a problem of getting good will be piloted from this September for all newly and eVective leaders in the schools. Teach First is qualified teachers in the government oYce for the addressing those particular issues as well, but north-west—that is about 2,000 NQTs. From emphasising the two-year nature of the programme. January 2010, it will also be piloted for NQTs in We have now developed a Teach On programme, national challenge schools, which are the secondary which then takes it into year three, four and beyond. schools with below 30% of five A to C grades, in other government regions, and also for one newly appointed head of department in each of those Q80 Mr Chaytor: Since Teach First was established, national challenge schools. MTL provision is being has there been any evidence that the impact on managed on a contract basis from the TDA. The mainstream PGCE courses has been detrimental? contract has been let for the north-west, the south- Have you taken people who would have otherwise west, the east midlands and the north-east, and is routinely gone on to PGCE, and has that aVected being tendered for the other government regions. other institutions? That is where it has got to. Professor Blandford: Let me respond in a diVerent way. Up until the introduction of the Teach First Q84 Mr Chaytor: When you say that it has been programme, approximately 3% from Russell Group piloted for NQTs in the north-west, how many of universities applied to initial teacher training them are expected to participate? programmes. Our recent research shows 8% of Professor Husbands: We will not know the answer to Oxbridge candidates—anybody leaving Oxbridge in that. The funding is available for all newly appointed any one year—apply to Teach First. Those people NQTs in primary and secondary schools in the would not have applied for a PGCE, so diVerent north-west. programmes suit diVerent people. Clearly some Mr Chaytor: Funding is available? aspects of Teach First may be transferable to other Professor Husbands: It is available from this programmes, but it is the particularity of Teach First September. It is an entitlement for approximately that has encouraged people to come into that 2,000 NQTs. programme and I do not believe that there has been Chairman: Sonia, were you worried about a detrimental eVect on the PGCE. something? Professor Blandford: No, but to add a layer to this, a complementary programme has been developed by Q81 Mr Chaytor: Some 8% of Oxbridge graduates the Training and Development Agency, which is the does not relate to 3% of Russell Group graduates, training of the trainers—the professional developers does it? I am trying to work it out, because I am sure in the schools. CPD co-ordinators in the schools will you are trying to disguise something, but I cannot see quite how it is being disguised. 5 See Ev 73–75 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

Ev 64 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods be trained alongside this, so there is investment in Q89 Mr Pelling: We do, as do students and lecturers, schools, echoing our earlier points about the no doubt. I wanted to concentrate on the importance of mentors and expertise. Teach First is relationship between teacher training partnerships also involved in that programme. and school placements. It is a long time since I sat on Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education, so I am very confused, but I imagine that trying to Q85 Mr Chaytor: Will there be any specific module set up and maintain a good teacher training within the MTL on teaching in challenging schools partnership between a university and a school is or on SEN? What are the basic building blocks of the quite diYcult. What are the arrangements, generally, programme? in terms of setting up such a partnership? The Professor Husbands: The building blocks of the written evidence that we have had was obviously MTL are set out in a DCSF paper called Being the that it was very diYcult to secure the participation Best for our Children published in March last year. of schools. That lists eight content areas that the MTL must Professor Woods: The written evidence talks, at cover. I hope that you will not ask me to remember times, of the inequality of the partnership. It is not those eight now. The MTL need not be delivered incumbent on schools to be in partnership, but it is through one module in each of the areas, but the incumbent on HE institutions to be in partnership. structure of the MTL must address those areas, and That is fairly well documented, and causes some leadership is, of course, one of them. problems. Straight away, there is a diVerence between primary and secondary. All of the We have heard about the Chicago discussion so far has been about secondary, and I Q86 Mr Chaytor: V model, the Boston model and other American think that it is a darned sight easier to set up e ective models, but what does it mean? What happens in partnerships in secondary schools with departments, Chicago and Boston that is diVerent from what than to set up partnerships in primary schools with happens here? head teachers and senior leadership teams. Much of Professor Blandford: Very briefly, it is the intensity of the angst about partnerships in schools seems to V the start-up, and there is a residential aspect. relate to the primary sector. There are di erent pressures. The pressures on partnership in secondary relate to things such as the quality of the department Q87 Mr Chaytor: Was the Teach First residential and the opportunities available for trainees; the derived from Chicago or Boston? problems in primary relate to securing enough Professor Blandford: No, it was derived from the placements, and therefore securing enough fruitful research by Teach First. As I said, we looked at those partnerships. I will finish by saying that I do not models subsequently and they proved that three think there is a major issue in terms of setting up things are really important: one, that people are partnerships and securing placements. However, I brought together over an intense period; two, that would want to build on the quality of those they are then placed in schools in groups of no fewer placements, particularly in primary—it is already than two to ensure that they have support; and, significantly there in secondary—in a way that is three, that training is up to M level and that they mirrored in both school-centred initial teacher obtain a masters after two or three years. training and employment-based groups. In SCITT provision, where schools get together as a consortium to run the training, and in employment- If that is well documented, well Q88 Mr Chaytor: based routes, the trainees have far more provision, understood and self-evident, why does every PGCE ownership or welcome in the school than many or undergraduate course in the country not start primary trainees have. They see themselves as just with a residential? It would not be too diYcult to having the placement in the school, and being a guest reorganise the programme to get team-building and rather than an integral part of the school. I think bonding from day one. that that is also true of the Teach First initiative, Professor Woods: As I said at the start, Teach First which is extremely successful because of the has many lessons for us and I think that we will start commitment of the schools to the training. seeing some of that happening now. My institution is part of the consortium that runs the summer school for Teach First, but it was not clear to us at Q90 Mr Pelling: Just to clarify, are you saying that it the outset that this was anything other than a is just because you rely on one specific teacher in the bootcamp preparation. The advantages have been primary schools? Is that why it falls through? Why is realised over the past two years. I think that we will it more diYcult in primary schools? You said that it start to see the lessons from Teach First filtering into was much easier liaising with a department. the system. Professor Woods: Yes, it is, but that is not causal. Chairman: There is plenty of scope for What is causal is that primary schools get on with accommodation. I noticed that Oxford, Cambridge their business in a way that can be seen to preclude and the LSE all had five weeks oV for Easter—plenty placements. They are also over-targeted for of accommodation for an intensive five weeks. placements. A few months ago you considered early- Mr Pelling: Revenge for the lengths of our recesses. years education. You can find eight adults in an Chairman: Yes, but we go and work in the early-years classroom, but you will not find the same constituencies. in a secondary geography or music class. So there are Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods structural matters that lead to primary senior in the school, the CPD and the development of those leadership teams saying, “No, we can’t have trainees individuals, as well as on the participants as they are in our school.” trained, has to be critical to the success of the Professor Husbands: I think that the issue about partnership. It is about expectations. If we are just partnership is not about primary or secondary, but expecting schools to be givers and not takers of any about monogamy and polygamy. I used to work at knowledge or experience, then it is the wrong model. the University of East Anglia, and partnerships in It has to be a balanced model. One thing that Teach primary and secondary were much easier to manage First has done is to embark on the two-year principle because we were the only higher education provider that any single trainee or group of trainees is in the for 80 miles. I now work in London and we are all school for two years. It is that balance of give and falling over ourselves. There is a market on both take from both sides. The other point, which echoes sides of the fence between ourselves and schools. The Roger’s earlier point about the notion of research partnerships are much less stable in urban areas than and new ideas, is that taking ideas into the school in rural areas. My experience in managing primary and working with the school to develop its ideas initial teacher education has not been the same as about positive practice will be beneficial in terms of Roger’s. Primary schools are often pretty similar to the individuals’ CPD. Another point is that secondary departments in size and scale, and you we have been talking about the diVerence can run very eVective partnerships. You run diVerent between university-based and employment-based partnerships with primary schools compared with programmes as though they were totally divorced secondary schools, but for me, the key variant is that from each other and never the twain shall meet. if you can run monogamous partnerships, from a Clearly that is not true, because those people will all higher education point of view, they are much easier be teachers in schools, whether in a year or two, and much more stable than in urban areas. three or four years from now. One thing that has come out of the employment-based routes is the emphasis on professionalism as people enter any Q91 Chairman: You might want a monogamous partnership, but you might want the money to run form of training. One problem with PGCEs is that to the other member of the partnership. What about they are still considered students. You hear “student giving the money to schools to hire in each year as teacher”, “trainee teacher”. They are subsequently they like? Universities do not have a great reputation at a lower level. If you embark on a more for business sense or management qualities, do they? professional approach when they go into schools, Professor Husbands: Whether universities have a and see them as teachers—which is exactly the same better or worse reputation for business sense than position as those on employment-based routes—the schools, I would not want to comment. You could expectation from both sides is greater. I think that it work like that, but what you would probably end up is about expectations of balance between the school with is vast orders of transaction costs, as you would and the university, but it is also about the teachers— have separate contracts with every secondary participants, as Teach First calls them—being department or primary school. The cost of running considered teachers as they are trained. At the end of it would be disproportionate. the day,the group sat in front of them are pupils, and they will not distinguish between a student teacher Chairman: We have clusters in local authorities. Professor Husbands: The clusters might emerge, and and a teacher. They are teachers as they go through you would probably end up pretty much where you the process. are now. Q93 Chairman: How many of the partnership schools use partnerships to recruit? Do they look Q92 Chairman: But where the money flows—who gets the money—is quite important, is it not? What over a teacher and then recruit them? Does that does the school get out of it? It might feel used and happen a lot? abused. A lot of partnerships are like that, are they Professor Blandford: Absolutely, and it is a good not? “Here’s the big bosses from the university, come thing. down to lay on hands and send us a few people to Chairman: It is a very sensible process—we are train.” What do they get out of it? talking about a marriage here. Professor Husbands: There is a transfer of resources from universities to schools in respect of placement Q94 Paul Holmes: I almost got on to teacher- costs. mentors, but before I do, can I go back on something Chairman: Roger, am I being unfair? that was mentioned a little earlier? Sonia and Chris Professor Woods: Yes, I think that you are being both agreed that Teach First was bringing in some very unfair. I think that schools get a great deal out new graduates who would not otherwise have come of it. Schools acknowledge the benefit that they get into teaching. Why is that? Is it just that you are from being in partnership. Whether schools have the marketing more eVectively? Is it the attraction of money and then buy the services of HE or HE buys having a salary while undergoing training? Is it seen the services of schools is a diVerent question, and one as a fast route to promotion, so that you have to do that I treat pragmatically. less of that tedious marking of exercise books before Professor Blandford: One thing that we have to be you get promoted? Why has it been so successful? clear about is that there are gains on both sides— Professor Blandford: It is a highly competitive route both for the schools and for the universities—and to get on; it always has been. The standard of that it is a partnership. The emphasis on the mentor expectation during the recruitment process is Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods incredibly high, so it is set against the value base— Professor Woods: It would be an unusual newly the competency base—that Teach First has been qualified teacher who had the skills to be able to evaluating and changing as it has developed over the mentor a teacher on placement, whatever route we last five years. So it is incredibly competitive. On were talking about. My experience is that that would Teach First, there are at least five applicants for be extremely rare, if not unknown to me. every one place, taking the average over the last five Professor Blandford: It is important that you see or six years, given that we are looking at the 300 mentoring as a skill in itself. Even if it is a newly UCAS points, and 2.1 and first class people coming qualified teacher, they could be far more engaged through. As I say, it is incredibly competitive. That and far more informed than someone who has been has an appeal in itself for those people who succeed in the profession for many years. Whoever it is, they year on year. That is what they want; they want the must get the adequate amount of support and competition and that drive. There is also the mentor training. One of the things that we have set emphasis on transferable skills and the focus on up at Teach First is a national mentor conference, leadership. Furthermore, there is the challenge of where we bring together mentors from schools going into the urban schools that are most diYcult around the country—it is fairly unique in that to teach in. All these elements have proven to be sense—in order to challenge each other to share attractive, not only to the participants who go good practice and build up an evidence base into through the programme but in attracting support what makes good and positive mentoring in schools. from business, because the scheme is addressing It is the absolute key to what we have been talking something out there in society that we know needs to about in terms of the link between initial teacher training and CPD. Without that training for the be addressed. One of the things that we have found V over the last five or six years is this tremendous mentors the process would probably be ine ective, irrespective of whether somebody has been teaching amount of humility out there among people who are for one year, 10, 15 or 20 years. It is about a person’s just about to graduate from universities. By pushing ability to mentor. the mission and the values of the scheme, and also by Keith Bartley: I have two observations. One is that making it more competitive, it becomes a far more the relationship that student teachers most often enticing and enriched programme to be part of. report as being the most valuable and significant is Does anyone agree or disagree with Paul Holmes: their relationship with their mentor. That is the key that? to eVective experiences when going through training Chairman: Keith, you have been neglected. and induction. The second observation is to Keith Bartley: I did not feel neglected at all, reinforce the point that Sonia has made. The skills Chairman. However, I am not sure if your evidence required of a mentor are not necessarily about has included our annual digest of statistics, and if passing down tips about what works for them as a not, I will make it available to the Committee. It is a teacher. They are often about being less judgmental, thrilling read. One of the bits of evidence that I was being supportive and helping teachers to reflect on going to adduce from the digest is to introduce a their practice and engage with the research that may sense of scale. Of those who attained QTS last year, be relevant to their practice, rather than telling them 2007–08, 19,767 came through a course of initial how to do it. That set of mentoring skills are not ones teacher training, through PGCE, BEd or BA; 3,600 that uniquely belong to an experienced or less- came through the graduate teacher programme; and experienced group of teachers. They are particular to 1,208 came through SCITTs. The other numbers are individuals and can be acquired through training. considerably lower. There were 156 overseas-trained teachers with at least one year’s service on a registered teacher programme. There were 130 with Q96 Paul Holmes: So while Roger said that it is not at least one year’s service on the Teach First in his experience for a newly qualified or programme. So I think that it is quite important to inexperienced teacher to do this, others suggest that understand the diVerence in scale between the there is nothing wrong with it? routes. All that we are learning from Teach First is Professor Husbands: I would be pretty surprised if an everything that we should learn from something that NQT were acting as a mentor. What is critical is that was set up to look radically at entry to the however long somebody has been teaching beyond induction, it is about quality of training. There is profession. Its value is immense, but we should not V lose sight of the sheer weight of numbers that are some evidence of some pretty e ective mentoring by coming through the traditional routes. people who are not so far away from their own training that they cannot remember what it is like to begin to learn to teach. People who have been teaching for between three and seven years may be Okay. One of the make-or-break Q95 Paul Holmes: particularly adept, but none would be adept without things for a trainee teacher is the support that they appropriate training and support. get when they are in their first and second teaching placements. King’s College submitted evidence suggesting that the role of mentoring trainee Q97 Paul Holmes: In its evidence, the Institute of teachers is sometimes given to inexperienced staV, Education suggested that for a lot of mentors, it was even to newly qualified teachers. Is it sensible to have a sort of early career stage that people did three to newly qualified teachers, who are themselves five years into teaching. It suggested that perhaps inexperienced, mentoring people who are training? advanced skills teachers ought to be doing more of Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods this, rather than those with less experience. schools they attend. I am not sure that Ofsted was However, you are saying that perhaps it should be overly concerned about it. It is a potential weakness, the other way. but actually the system is managing to do the job. Professor Husbands: We need more mentors than there are advanced skills teachers. Professor Blandford: One of the systems that we Q101Paul Holmes: Sonia, you said in your submission that there should be a framework for have incorporated into Teach First is the notion that V our Ambassadors—people who have just come practice for mentors and sta across the piece. Have through the NQT year—are trained as associate we covered that in what has been said, or is there tutors, but alongside experienced mentors and anything else? tutors. We select the best of the best in order to take Professor Blandford: I think it is linked to the three those people forward. They inject that new element cycles of qualifications and the registration of of challenge and excitement, and the rigour of teachers. There should be a stage where people come having just gone through the programme into the profession, whether at six months or six themselves. We do not address the issue lightly—we weeks, when there is absolutely no doubt there is have a complete training scheme for people before continuity with CPD. Then, when they meet the core they become associate tutors, but they are all standards there should be a registration. I think I put supported as they go through the role of being something in my submission about being a chartered associate tutors and mentors. teacher at some point. At that point, those people have the expertise to be trained as a mentor, so there is a raising of the bar and a raising of expectation. Q98 Paul Holmes: In my day as a teacher, the head When they have succeeded at that level, they can of department was the mentor. They had no training then be involved in training, so it is not just done in whatsoever, but those were the bad old days when an arbitrary fashion with who is available from the heads of department had no training either. Things staV room. There are absolute expectations of the have moved on. In its review last year, Ofsted head teacher of their staV involved in training. That suggested that across the board mentors were not then leads to the link with the masters qualification really very well trained. in the second cycle. Whether it is a masters or a Professor Blandford: Exactly, that is why we have further qualification, there needs to be some adopted this mechanism within Teach First. We train expectation that there is further training. The final people who are selected, the best of the best, to part is, of course, leading up to headship and become associate tutors. They then become the leadership, and the extensive nature of the role of a mentors as we go through. We are building for head. We have heard about the diYculties with sustainability in schools. primary,in terms of training, and we know that there are diYculties in secondary, but that is recognised Q99 Paul Holmes: So, a clear lesson from you and from the outset.There is a journey and expectation in Ofsted is that the other 99% of new teachers need the third cycle which takes people into senior better-trained mentors. leadership, but that should be completely Professor Husbands: Well, if you work on Keith’s transparent at the point of entry to the profession, so figures, we need to mentor something in excess of people can see that they can become either a 20,000 student teachers per year. When I last looked chartered or registered teacher. They move on to at this, we were getting a turnover of around 25% in become a leading teacher—a mentor—and then mentors year on year, so there was a pretty heavy become someone who is aspiring to headship. At the demand for training. We are talking about a large moment, it is a little bit arbitrary as to what people population. get, and the multiplicity of qualifications and routes actually does not help, because there is not the Q100 Paul Holmes: Another criticism that was transparent framework to embrace it. I am not raised, by Ofsted I think, was that the training for against multiple routes into teaching, but what I teacher mentors oVered, through universities for think is needed is a very clear framework in which to example, was often not very well taken up. Is that locate these routes. V because universities are not o ering the right Chairman: We need to move on to accountability— training, or because they are not flexible enough in Fiona. when they oVer it? Or is it because schools are not releasing staV to go on courses like that? Professor Woods: I think it is the latter, rather than Q102 Fiona Mactaggart: Ofsted and the TDA claim the former. Schools often have other pressures on that we currently have the best-ever teachers coming them, and if they have trained mentors who have into the system. Is that true? been trained four or five years previously, they will, Professor Woods: I think it is true. perhaps, make a decision not to send a mentor to a Professor Husbands: There is no evidence that I am training course now. I do not think that the sector as aware of that would directly contradict that. The a whole—I am thinking of the HE sector—would be evidence we have from the NQT survey is of pretty shy of oVering training opportunities. In fact, it is broad satisfaction with the quality of their training my experience that we oVer as flexible a training as by NQTs and also by schools employing NQTs. The possible. We will do it on several evenings so that areas for weakness are the areas one might expect— people have a choice, or in diVerent clusters of working with pupils with additional needs, whether schools, so that people have a choice as to which in language or with special educational needs. I Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods think it is absolutely true that over the last 20 years three routes. The mixed economy is really what the standard of provision has improved, and I think made it a success. Exactly as my colleagues have that on this Ofsted are probably right. been saying, it is critical that the people who have their feet firmly in the school are supported by the people within the university, and that those people Q103 Fiona Mactaggart: I asked that question partly within the university have the expectation that, because I am concerned about the quality of the within their working life, they are going to be people who teach teachers. I know that over some engaged in research and in generating the theory that time there has been increasing casualisation of V is going to frame the practice in the schools. It is university-based sta who are involved in teacher absolutely critical that we do not lose sight of that education. I remember, indeed, when I was doing it partnership between the school and the university, 13 years ago, I used to have to sign termly contracts and the importance of the research that happens and saying that if the Institute of Education sacked me, the relationship with what happens in the schools. It I was perfectly happy with that—which I wasn’t, but would be wholly wrong if we just had researchers it was the only way I could remain employed by the going in as teacher educators or just those people institution, so I signed. I understand that that sort of who are in schools. It is the partnership that makes it contract, and temporary and relatively casual an incredibly rich and vibrant experience for people contracts, are quite common for university-based who are being trained. That is something borne out teacher education. Surely, that means that they are by research in Finland, Singapore, Australia, and not likely to be of the highest standard. New Zealand. It is that partnership that is absolutely Professor Husbands: I have run two large schools of critical, which is why Teach First now works in education and now have a senior management role partnership with higher education institutions and at the Institute. It seems to me that you are actively would not want that to disappear as a result of V looking for a mix of sta on your initial teacher whatever advice the Committee gives. It is very education programmes. You need career teacher important that the work in schools and the work in educators who are themselves actively research universities comes together through the programme. engaged, who know the structure of their discipline and who are able to support the learning of newly qualified teachers in those particular ways. You also Q104 Chairman: That sounds glorious, but come on, quite often need people who are very close to the how many professors teach on initial teacher classroom themselves. In all the institutions in which training courses? I have worked, we have made active use of either Professor Blandford: I did. seconded teachers or recently retired teachers. We Professor Husbands: I’m supervising a student on a have used people who probably do show up as placement on Thursday morning. casualised members of staV, but they have particular expertise. From a senior management and quality Q105 Chairman: It is not very common though, is it? point of view, I would worry if we were overly Professor Husbands: That’s two of us. dependent on our core staV because we would lose Professor Blandford: In answer to the question, I had flexibility, but I would also worry if we were overly 11 professors in my staV of 400 at Canterbury, and dependent on our casualised staV. You actively need of the 11, nine were actively involved in some form to manage a teacher education work force that of initial teacher training. They were either going out combines a variety of skills. It is perfectly true that to schools and supporting groups of teachers and that can go too far in any number of directions, but their trainees in research, or were actively involved in I know that there are some institutions that have got initiatives such as Behaviour for Learning, Citized themselves into diYculty through over-casualisation and others that have proved successful in schools. It of their work force. It needs watching very carefully, is very much a hands-on community, and not a and I think that it is a senior management community that divorces itself from the reality of responsibility to look carefully at that. schools. It has got to be seen as this partnership as Chairman: Fiona? we move forward. Fiona Mactaggart: I think that there are others who wish to comment. Q106 Fiona Mactaggart: I am interested in the Professor Woods: The other reason for what could people who are not from either of the communities be seen as the use of casual members of staV is that you discussed, Sonia—those who are not the high- we can be given colleagues from school who would grade researchers and professors at the university not work in teacher education otherwise. Through and those who are not excellent classroom teachers. the partnerships, we will have head teachers both I am worried that there is a group of people who are talking and working with trainees in a way that we increasingly casualised, who are not very well paid, could not if we were simply to run on our own staV. compared to either classroom teachers or university Professor Blandford: Can I just add to that. I was professional staV, and who bear a very large part of invited to become involved with Teach First when I the burden of supervising the teaching practice of was Pro-Vice Chancellor (Dean of Education) at student teachers, and that is in addition to Canterbury Christ Church, which is one of the curriculum teaching, certainly in primary education. largest—I think it is the second largest—provider of I am concerned about whether they are encouraged teacher education in England. We had 400 people or enabled to be researchers as part of their role, involved in initial teacher training in any one year because sometimes I feel that the research across 36 diVerent programmes within the generic requirement was done in a way that was neither Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods encouraging nor enabling but was actually rather the Institute, Cambridge and Warwick are all oppressive. If we want excellent teachers, we need to looking at pretty significant reductions in their support research about discipline in classroom RAE income. practice, which we know new teachers find diYcult. Professor Blandford: One of the positives that will It is about how life in the classroom works. This come out of this in the greater distribution is the group of people should be expert in that, but I am encouragement of those university departments that not convinced that they are getting opportunities to had not been actively involved in research in a major become experts in that. way to become more actively involved, and the Professor Blandford: I cannot speak for all balance that I talked about earlier becoming more of university faculties, but I can speak for the 15 we an overt reality in those universities, so that you have work with, two of which are represented on the panel research, the time and capacity for research, and the today. Those universities have complete synergy balance in what happens, and you do not have the between the people working as practitioners and casualisation of teacher educators. It becomes as one researchers, and people are given the opportunity to as they go forward. be trained in the research environment. Those who Chairman: Happy with that, Fiona? Edward? choose to become researchers are encouraged to do so, otherwise where would the researchers come from? We are not talking about the traditional Q109 Mr Timpson: Can I just take you back to the postgrad or postdoc going into educational research. TDA and the role of Ofsted in the accountability We are talking about people who have experience in arrangements for teacher training. We have had classrooms going into the research environment. some evidence from Manchester Metropolitan There has also been a real push on behalf of the university, which has a campus in Crewe in my sector to enhance those people who are out there day constituency. MMU complains that it is stifled in its by day, week by week delivering the programmes in creativity and innovation in ITT by the requirements partnership with the schools. Over the past five or six of TDA and the Ofsted inspection. Is that your years, we have all woken up to the importance of experience? If so, what part of the centrally mentorship, both within the schools and the prescribed aspect of accountability arrangements do mentorship given by the tutor who goes in, and of you need, and what reform can there be on the the relationship between the two. Extensive work essential aspects of it, to ensure that we do have the has been done on observations, support and creativity and innovation that are so essential for development, and that has played a significant role ITT to move on through the ages? in the raising of the standards to which Ofsted Professor Husbands: I should make it clear that I am referred in its documents. both a TDA board member and a member of the faculty of education and that I am not answering with a TDA hat on. Although the prefatory Q107 Fiona Mactaggart: So what are the statement would be that the accountability regime implications of the cut in research funding for the has probably, over the last 10 years, produced a top-rated education departments following the 2008 compliance regime that has delivered a floor level of research assessment exercise? quality, what it has tended to do is lower the ceiling Y Professor Husbands: We all face a di cult settlement and raise the floor and to assume that lowering the as a result of the RAE. It is probably worth noting ceiling and raising the floor might well be a that initial teacher education is TDA-funded, and reasonable trade-oV. We probably now want to the RAE settlement is of course HEFCE-funded. argue that we are pretty robust in terms of floor When listening to Sonia’s answer, I was scratching standards and the quality of teachers being my head, working my way through all the contracts produced, and there is an opportunity to look V I have signed o in the past 18 months and trying to slightly diVerently at the accountability regime. For work out whether there were people who I would put me the key issue is that the inspection regime, which into the category you have described as casualised has been burdensome in terms of frequency of and low paid. I stand to be corrected on this, but I inspection, also sets in stone three or four things that think that we are probably okay and that we are might be separated. Quite rightly there are standards awarding people appropriate contracts and trying to that newly qualified teachers have to meet in order develop them as part of their work with us. The RAE to be given QTS; there are requirements then on the settlement places almost all—not quite all, but structure of courses to produce those standards; and nearly all—of the leading research faculties of there are requirements on inputs and the nature of Y education in very considerable di culty. We are partnership with schools that are required to achieve Y struggling to work out some of the di cult choices those standards. If you wanted to open the system up we have to make. to greater creativity you might quite reasonably relax one of those and the obvious thing to do is to Q108 Chairman: How many are there? be absolutely firm about standards to be achieved by Professor Husbands: I think that in total there are 90 newly qualified teachers, but to give higher schools of education. One of the consequences of the education and schools considerably more freedom RAE methodology is that those institutions that did about the way in which they go about achieving well—say the top 10—will have lost funding as a them. For example—this is an obvious one—the result of the 2008 RAE. The methodology number of days in school is set down as a distributes resource slightly more equitably across requirement. If you wanted quite diVerent models of the sector. I think it is now in the public domain that teacher education you might give schools and higher Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods education providers more freedom to decide how the is quite a small event. Innovation is much bigger time was to be distributed between universities and than such little things, although I do not know schools. I am not quite sure how wide a variety of whether that is particularly what is bothering models would emerge, but you could see the system Manchester Met. The thing about innovation is that being thereby liberalised. in the past, as Chris has said, we have had a compliance-driven regime and have been frightened Q110 Mr Timpson: With your TDA hat still oV, to experiment and try anything new. We have talked would one of the areas of accountability about learning from the lessons of Teach First and arrangements that could be removed be what the trying something like that, and have been very MMU has told us are frequent notes of potential cautious. I think that with the change of standards non-compliance, sent by the TDA to providers? in 2007, the change of the Ofsted inspection regime Professor Husbands: This is a really diYcult one for that has happened over the past year and the me to keep my hat oV, because I also chair the TDA confidence that we have built as a sector in higher accreditation committee. I think that, if MMU education, there is far more opportunity to be looked at the framework that we have agreed for a innovative. For example, the TDA sets the number notice of non-compliance, it would see that it has of days that we should have our trainees in school, changed quite considerably over the past six months. but states nothing about what they should be doing Chairman: Very interesting. there. A traditional course will have block placement, teaching practices and so on, which I Q111 Mr Timpson: Can I ask you a factual question think is a model that has had its day; we have got to about that to help inform us? What sorts of things be far more radical about how we work in schools. are covered by the notes of non-compliance being The TDA will not stop us doing that, but what will handed out to providers? stop us, or what will be the measure of that, will Professor Husbands: Notes of non-compliance will simply be, “Have these teachers achieved the be issued where there is a potential non-compliance standards and at what sort of level?” We are always against TDA regulation. That may well mean that trying to achieve the standards at the highest the core structure does not conform to the required possible level. So I think that there is something of number of days in school; that the assessment regime the past in comments about innovation. is not assessing all of the standards for qualified Chairman: We are running out of time, so I ask teacher status; or that there is concern about everyone for shorter questions and shorter answers. admission requirements that are not ensuring that all We have only one more section, so let us get through entrants meet the baseline requirements for entry to all the things that we want to get through. the teaching profession. But the note of non- compliance should then give the provider time to put changes in place that enable them to put things right. Q113 Derek Twigg: What are your views on the capability to match the 14–19 agenda, in terms of Q112 Mr Timpson: Is not the word “should” where new roles and the introduction of the diploma? our concerns lie? This is such a burdensome exercise Professor Blandford: The position of the teacher that is taking up so much time and is not allowing trainers is very strong. Teacher trainers have been those concerned to be innovative and creative in the involved in 14–19 because it is part of the history of way that we want. teacher training. There has always been the 14–19 Professor Husbands: It would probably be better for Y age group in schools, and universities have been you to put that question to TDA o cers when you actively involved in the development of the diploma see them in a couple of weeks. and I think that that is absolutely critical. It is not a I will put it to Roger. Mr Timpson: separate issue. It is not something that has suddenly Professor Woods: I can oVer a couple of points of been imposed on them, and many university clarification. There was an issue of non-compliance faculties and schools of education have been for a number of institutions regarding registration involved in its evolution. A significant number of with the General Teaching Council for England. That is a simple requirement and, certainly if our universities have both FE and secondary provision, trainees are not registered with the GTCE, the letter so they have the leverage to be able to bring together of the law explains clearly that we are being non- the two communities within FE and the secondary compliant. There was a feeling among the sector that sector. Given that there is QTLS—Qualified Teacher there had been a rather brutal approach to that Learning and Skills status—and QTS, and that work registration at a time when the system itself was new, is being done looking at the similarities between the but I think it is a very small aVair. There have been two, universities are increasingly looking at the way other concerns; for instance, the newly qualified in which core programmes can be answerable to teacher survey threw up some interesting results with both qualifications. That work has been going on, to regard to primary teachers’ understanding of how to my knowledge, for the last seven years, so it is teach reading at a time when the Rose report was nothing new. It is a diVerent outcome that is now out causing us to rethink our training in that respect. The there, but it is not a new development in the sense of, TDA stepped in very quickly, in its view, to oVer “Let’s look at 14–19 and suddenly have universities support, but that was not always seen by some at a state of readiness”. They always have been at a institutions as support; it was seen as, yet again, an state of readiness for 14–19. At Teach First, we have accountability argument. 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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods support of the Institute and Manchester and you believe that all is for the best in the best of all Warwick, because they are at a point of readiness to possible worlds. I was not quite sure whether you go in to colleges as well as schools. thought that there was anything at all wrong with the training of teachers in this country. Is it a fair Q114 Derek Twigg: So why did Ofsted state that the reflection that you are pretty content? strategies for securing enough new teachers Professor Blandford: The critical point is the one equipped to meet the 14–19 curriculum areas and for that we have all made and that is the relationship the strengthening of links with initial training for the between initial teacher training and continuing further education system are not yet suYciently professional development and the embedding of the clear? idea that when people go into teaching there is Professor Blandford: I think that it was probably the continuing professional development and some way the questions were asked. continuity between initial and continuing Keith Bartley: I just want to come in on that professional development. The second point is the particular finding, because the priority has to be to importance of the mentors in schools. We all ensure parity of experience for children and young recognise the fact that mentors need further training, people, regardless of setting. If you take that as an whether they are newly qualified teachers or people absolute necessity, it is dependent upon high who have been in teaching for a long time. My third standards of teaching across the sectors. With the point is one I made earlier and is the importance of increase in the range of adults working with children having a framework that emphasises a progression, and young people in the 14–19 sector, it is critical but which is not too complicated, as people move that the person leading teaching has the relevant through diVerent roles as they take on board some of expertise, whether that be through QTS or QTLS. the training within schools. The reforms present something of a challenge to the Professor Husbands: The basic model that we are subject aspects of teacher training. Equally, operating on is sound, but there are three critical vocational specialists may need to develop in terms problems. First, I envy Sonia the quality of entrants of teaching and learning skills. There are two pieces she is able to attract. The international evidence is of information on that. One is that from September that in order to fill places across the entire system we of this year all instructors employed in schools will still have to oVer places too far down into the ability be required to have provisional registration with the range for us to be internationally competitive. That General Teaching Council for England, so that will is not just an issue around teacher education; it is bring them into the same registration and regulatory about the culture in which teaching operates. We framework as teachers. The second piece of desperately need to jack up the quality of entrants information is that I work very closely with Toni across the piece. Secondly, I think that partnerships Fazaeli at the Institute for Learning, because she and between higher education and schools, which have I are exploring issues of equivalence around QTS delivered fantastically where they work, particularly and QTLS and also because our two registrant in what I described as monogamous settings, are still bodies are now moving closer together—she also has far too unstable. The root problem there is the responsibility for registering instructors within FE. statutory requirement on higher education to work So I think that there are ways, both structurally and with schools, which is not mirrored by a requirement in training terms, in which we can look at addressing on schools to work with higher education. You have the issue, but that is not to deny that it is an issue to one arm tied behind your back from the word go. be addressed. Thirdly, we construct too many barriers. Too much Professor Husbands: I think that there are three of what we do is in boxes, so there is a separation issues. The first is that all TDA allocations are based between early years professional status and primary. on subject, and there is a question about whether There is a separation between secondary QTS and that takes us through the 14–19 issue. The second is QTLS. We have a separation between ITT and that QTS is TDA-funded and FE teacher training is induction and so on. A loosening of constraints to HEFCE-funded and that may need looking at. The allow institutions to drive change along with their third is that there is a real chicken and egg situation partners in schools and local authorities would about whether there is enough diploma provision to enable us to move much more quickly. give newly qualified or trainee teachers experience of Keith Bartley: The educational environment is teaching diplomas. Is the provision in schools and changing rapidly. We are seeing very diVerent colleges moving too slow or too fast in relation to the demands. We have just been talking about 14–19. number of training opportunities that there are Chris just mentioned early years professional status. available? Those three things need looking at. We have not mentioned Every Child Matters, and that whole framework of requirement around Q115Derek Twigg: What is your feel for that? teachers requires more and diVerent things of them. Professor Husbands: We at the Institute took on It is very timely to consider the structure, some specific diploma provision in creative and organisation, curriculum and time available for media this year and we have found placements initial teacher training and induction. The question diYcult in London settings. may not be is the system broke, but is the system suYciently fit for its new purposes? There are two Q116 Chairman: Can I take you back a little bit in areas that I would tease out. First, I do not think that terms of some of your earlier answers. Sitting here we could claim that there is real consistency in terms listening to all the answers I get the impression that of practice right across those very diverse routes in Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods and diverse experiences that teachers have during careers. That is what you are saying, isn’t it? You their training. Therefore we need to focus—Sonia made the comparison and gave evidence that in has made the point a couple of times now—very other countries the top 10% of graduates apply to be much on the outcomes of the product and the way teachers. It is always in Finland, so that probably in which those are defined, assessed and measured. refers to Finland. Roger, I know you do not like me Secondly, I think that as we go forward— drawing you out by being rather controversial, but partnership is one of the ways we can do this—we haven’t a number of your colleagues here been need better to link practice with research and give saying that? teachers the opportunity to reflect on their own Professor Woods: Of course we would like the most practice informed by research, and therefore to qualified people. I do not think that it is necessarily develop. I see those as dimensions of the current the top 10%. We have to look at a range of other system that need strengthening rather than things such as the ability to work with young people necessarily replacing. and so on. In fact, in some ways, the over-attention Chairman: That sounds like a theme of our recent on high tariVs, whether of degrees or A-levels, could report on the National Curriculum, Keith. I hope mean that we are missing out on some of the people you recognised that. who might be excellent teachers, but of course we Keith Bartley: I did very much, and I am glad that would like the top 10%. I do not see the controversy the Committee took the advice that we oVered. there. We would all like the best qualified people to Chairman: Jolly good. I am sure that there was a be in our profession, whatever that profession may meeting of minds. The Committee, in our private be, but that does not mean that there will not be an session before you came in, decided that we are going average that we are constantly trying to drive up. to have an open session with all those who gave Keith Bartley: Just to make an observation about evidence to us to discuss our report on the National that average—I can say this directly because I spend Curriculum, which is a very new, innovative way of a lot of time in schools engaging with teachers and looking at what a Select Committee does. We are their practice—I am consistently impressed and, going to say, “Okay. This is the report. You gave the indeed, humbled by the skills and the qualities that evidence.” We are going to ask the media and other those people manifest. I do not think the notion of contributors, even civil servants, to come in and having the top 10% who are best qualified is the only evaluate whether we have made any diVerence. You way of driving up teaching standards because I think will all be very welcome. that those standards, by and large, are very high. The Keith Bartley: Excellent idea. issue is how we can attract people and raise further Professor Woods: I agree with what has been said the standing of the profession. before. I certainly do not think that we are living in the best of all possible worlds. I think we can improve a lot. I would emphasise two things. It is not Q118 Chairman: I would like you to route us to just about mentors in schools. We have to get the evidence because I do not believe it. I think that V V generation of teachers in schools to be involved in, people who come in at a di erent level have di erent and to take ownership of, the training of the next kinds of attributes and can be trained up to be better generation of teachers in schools. You cannot leave teachers than some others. From my experience of it to an individual sector, whether it is universities, university teaching, some of the cleverest people in colleges, Teach First or whatever. Teachers have to the campus were the worst teachers I have ever be involved. We are moving towards that, but far too encountered. Some of the best teachers were not the slowly. Secondly—this is a chestnut—initial teacher most brilliant academics. Surely there must be a bit training is not the only training. We have to have of that in your experience? professional development for teachers structurally Professor Husbands: It is absolutely true that you built in from the start of their career in school. I look cannot teach eVectively without the right personal forward to the masters in teaching and learning attributes. However, the single thing we could do to providing something of that. If it works, it will be drive up quality in schools would be to raise the brilliant, because it will be the first time that we have intellectual calibre of the profession at entry. That is had initial teacher training that cannot solve all the really important. Once you have the people, you problems. However good the training is, there are need to develop them. Our teacher training structure loads of things that teachers do not know and that is fundamentally premised on the need to turn out they need help with. They are asking for that help. If enough new teachers each year so that we do not they move straight on to a course and continue with have to send children home. That was a real danger it, that will set the tone. That has got to happen. nine or 10 years ago. It is no longer a danger. In that sense, initial teacher education is providing the supply of teachers we need to keep the school system Q117 Chairman: Running through the evidence, I going. On that level, it is succeeding. My view is that can see that you have also said that you cannot make it would succeed better if we were driving up a silk purse out of a pig’s ear, to use an old standards at entry. expression. You said, Chris, that you envy the intake that Teach First has. The theme running through is this: if you get a not very high performing candidate, Q119 Chairman: But is that more true for secondary there is not much you can do, with CPD or anything than for primary? else—they are going to be pretty average or below- Keith Bartley: No, I do not think that it is. I think average teachers for the rest of their professional that it is true right across the board. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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20 April 2009 Keith Bartley, Professor Sonia Blandford, Professor Chris Husbands and Professor Roger Woods

Q120 Chairman: So you would like very bright in all sectors from early years to FE, there is no graduates coming into early years? reason why people of high academic ability should Keith Bartley: I would like very bright graduates not be leaders in all those areas. There is no reason coming into teaching right across the piece. why they should not be encouraged to go into them. We need people from across society to go into all phases of education. Finally,if we are to teach people Q121 Chairman: In early years as well? to teach eVectively, it has to be premised on what Keith Bartley: Yes. That does not mean taking in they personally can give. We are looking at the people who do not have the personal skills and combination of academic and personal skills. We attributes that they need, but it seems to me that the should not exclude people on the basis of intellect intellectual calibre is critical. alone. We have to look at what they can bring to the Chairman: Sorry, I seem to have left you to end, profession and how we can support them in doing Sonia. so. Professor Blandford: That is ﬁne, thank you. The Chairman: Thank you very much. I would have balance of personal qualities with the academic is loved to ask you about the role of Teachers TV in central to the success of Teach First. When going out CPD and whether Fast Track has gone the way of to schools over the last 15 to 20 months, I have Gifted and Talented. There are lots of things that experienced the enthusiasm of all teachers for what you can put on your list of things to think about and they do. The mixed economy is something that perhaps write to us about. This has been a very good Teach First would support. There are routes into session. We have worked you hard. We have enjoyed teaching to support particular types of people. It is it and learned a lot. When I have pushed you it has not all premised on intellectual ability. Successes in been only to get you to come back a little harder to schools are down to the mixed economy. Teach First the Committee. Will you see this as your interview looks for particular attributes coupled with high for regular communication with the Committee. intellect that will lead people to be leaders in all Will you go away and think of things that you should ﬁelds. We are looking for leadership as well as at have said to us and questions we should have asked teacher training. If you are looking at what happens you. Thank you.

Supplementary memorandum submitted by Teach First Further to giving evidence to the Committee on 20 April 2009, Teach First submits the following additional information in support of the Inquiry. Teach First values the opportunity to contribute and is committed to enhancing quality of teacher training provision, whatever the route of entry. The information outlined below relates to the Committee’s queries on the nature of our intake and on the next career steps taken by Teach First teachers on completion of the two-year programme. Professor Sonia Blandford Director of Leadership Development Teach First

1. Our contribution to recruitment of graduates who would otherwise not have considered teaching: The status of teaching as a profession has risen in the last decade, as colleagues at the Committee agreed. This is down to a combination of factors, including the Government’s initiatives to improve renumeration arrangements, better marketing, and an increasing diversity of routes into teaching. Teach First would argue that it has been a big part of the story of rising status, but also in providing a route into teaching that captures the interest of the very top echelon of graduates. HESA destinations data 1999–200065 reported that — 3.7% of new graduates were listed as teaching professionals. — The average for the Russell Group universities was 2.9%. — Oxford, Cambridge, Southampton, Bristol and Imperial College recorded just 2%. Now — Before TF, only a handful of Oxbridge graduates went to teach in a challenging urban school, now more than 5% of all of those with the right academic credentials apply to Teach First.

For example, in 2008:

Oxford had 2,826 Finalists with 1st/2.1. 148 applied for Teach First

65 From Ivory Tower to Chalkface: Recruiting Teachers from Elite Universities by Steven Haines and Joe Hallgarten, completed for the Institute for Public Policy Research in 2002. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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Cambridge had 2,378 Finalists with 1st/2.1. 114 applied for Teach First 148 ! 114 % 262/2,826 ! 2,378 (86% of Cambridge getting a 2.1 or 1st) % 5,204, so 262/ 5,204 % 5% — In 2008, 32% of Oxbridge students who applied to Teach First got a place—and Oxbridge graduates made up 23% of Teach First’s intake for the last three cohorts. — Oxford now estimates that 8% of its 2007 graduates are in teaching. — Beyond Oxbridge, 2% of Russell Group graduates applied to Teach First in 2008. They represented 74% of our intake. — Teaching in a challenging urban school is now the 9th most prestigious job a graduate can do (Times Top 100 data). — We were recently voted by students the top graduate recruiter for the public sector. Our marketing is also focused to undermine some of the key concerns that have in the past deterred certain portions of the graduate population from teaching — Ofsted (2008) found that 40% of Teach First participants had previously considered doing a PGCE, but had decided against it. — DfES study, September 200566 found that undergraduates who strongly agreed with the statement that they were “extremely ambitious” were 20% less likely to undertake a PGCE. Now: — Evidence from the TDA evaluation of Teach First suggested key attraction of Teach First for participants was “keeping their options open”—we have positioned teaching as a profession which can be a good platform for furthering ambitions in a variety of sectors, as well as providing accelerated paths to leadership positions. — Our marketing focuses on teaching as one chapter in what may be a varied career, through which participants can build skills valued by employers in all sectors. — Less than a ﬁfth of TF participants thought of teaching as their top career choice when applying to TF, yet about three-ﬁfths end up remaining engaged in education. In addition to recruiting those who might otherwise not have taught, it is relevant to restate that we also place them in the schools in which they would have been most unlikely to teach. All TF teachers are placed in those schools that had diYculty placing teachers even after applications to teacher training started to rise post 2000, as a result the introduction of better grants and golden hellos.

NB We have a check box on our application form that asks whether candidates who are unsuccessful would like their details to go to other ITT providers through the TDA. We are not informed as to the success rate of candidates we send on to them, but the TDA may be able to provide clariﬁcation on this.

2. Destination data for our Ambassadors (alumni) We provide the following data for the TDA, updated each monthly. Provided below is the information from the report we submitted at the end of February 2009. The category of “non-challenging” schools in this data includes teachers teaching in the independent sector. Across all our cohorts, we know of just 31 Teach First Ambassadors teaching in independent schools in the UK, of 997 trained through Teach First to date (another 364 will obtain QTS this Summer).

Destination Data (i) Education

2003* 2004* 2005* 2006* Education: (cohort 1) (cohort 2) (cohort 3) (cohort 4)

Sub Total % of Ambassadors, 42% 55% 54% 63% registered with TF, still in education*** Education (outside of the classroom) 2% 4% 2% 1% Education (overseas) 8% 4% 3% 2% Currently teaching 4% 6% 6% 11% % working in no leadership role challenging as % of full cohort

66 Education as a Career: Entry and Exit from Teaching as a Profession, Professor Kate Purcell and Nick Wilton and Professor Peter Elias and Rhys Davies, for DfES. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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2003* 2004* 2005* 2006* Education: (cohort 1) (cohort 2) (cohort 3) (cohort 4) schools** Currently teaching 12% 23% 22% 38% in leadership role as % of full cohort Currently teaching 4% 9% 9% 8% % working in no leadership role other as % of full cohort schools Currently teaching 11% 11% 12% 3% in leadership role as % of full cohort Outside of Education: Government & Civil Service 1% 2% 3% 1% Professional Services 20% 12% 14% 11% Industry and Technology 2% 4% 2% 0% Marketing & Creative Industries 4% 5% 0% 1% Innovation and Entrepreneurship 1% 1% 1% 0% Pharmaceuticals 0% 0% 2% 1% Banking 4% 4% 5% 2% Charity & Not For Proﬁt 19% 6% 9% 10% Further study 2% 4% 5% 4% Other (tourism, unknown, travelling) 6% 6% 6% 6%

* Percentages in these columns do not add up to 100 due to decimal rounding ** Challenging Schools refers to the following: — A city challenge school. — A school with under 25% A*–C including English and Mathematics. — A school with over 30% FSM (free school meals). *** Including teachers, people working in education and educational charities

(ii) Type of School 2003 2004 2005 2006 (cohort 1) (cohort 2) (cohort 3) (cohort 4)

Type of School Challenging school 51% 61% 56% 81% Non challenging school 49% 39% 44% 19%

As mentioned, we also know of several instances in which Ambassadors who have left teaching have since chosen to return to the classroom. At the moment we know of at least 20 such incidences, and will be tracking “returners” going forward. One of the key advantages of Teach First, as my colleague Keith Bartley mentioned at the Committee, is the low drop out rate on the path to QTS. Every year, in the region of 40,000 individuals embark on teacher training. Some 33,000 of them will achieve qualified teacher status, 26,000 or 27,000 of them will complete their induction year. If you go back to that initial figure of 40,000 people who started their training, the retention rates in Teach First are very high because there is a lower percentage drop-out from starting training to achieving qualified teacher status, and then going to complete their NQT year. It is this high completion of QTS which makes it easier for our teachers to come back into teaching, even if they initially spend a year or two exploring other options on completion of two year with Teach First. April 2009

Supplementary memorandum submitted by Professor Roger Woods, Chair, Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET) I was very grateful to have had the opportunity to contribute to the oral evidence session of the teacher training inquiry on Monday 20 April. You kindly invited witnesses to submit supplementary written statements in support of the evidence they gave. This letter concerns the value of undergraduate teacher training. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:33:13 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG2

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Undergraduate teacher education programmes are a well established and highly regarded route into teaching. Most are now called “BA with QTS” rather than BEd, and make a significant contribution to the supply of primary school teachers. There are also a number of secondary programmes, particularly in shortage subject areas. Undergraduate programmes attract good intending teachers and are well respected and supported by schools. They allow student teachers to spend more time in school than those on postgraduate programmes and, according to Ofsted,67 on key aspects of training such as special education needs and inclusion. They allow greater scope for innovation and for the creative use of time in school. According to the TDA’s own survey of newly qualified teachers, the primary undergraduate route is considered to be more eVective overall than postgraduate (88% good or very good compared to 83% for postgraduate). It is also better regarded with respect to: preparing to teach learners of diVerent abilities (64% to 59%); and working with learners with special educational needs (54% to 43%).68 According to TDA research, 70% of senior leadership teams in primary schools prefer teachers trained through the undergraduate route.69 There does not appear to be any sound educational grounds for abolishing the undergraduate route. There could also, particularly when the country moves out of recession, be teacher supply implications. Although applications to postgraduate programmes are numerically strong, it is far from clear that there would be enough suitable applicants to compensate for those who would be lost. The balance of new entrants would also be aVected, with those for whom an initial degree followed by a PGCE is neither attractive nor practicable excluded from the profession. It would also be an expensive move. Most undergraduate programmes turn out a teacher over a three year period as opposed to the four years taken to qualify by someone gaining a degree and the PGCE. A common criticism of the undergraduate route is that it narrowly focuses the student in an area which limits their future options. This is true of many vocational degrees including medicine, nursing and veterinary sciences. I would make the point however that Teach First sees that their trainees gain much in terms of leadership and management skills from their training and I believe the same benefits exist in regards undergraduate trainees. The A Level point scores of students recruited to undergraduate programmes is, understandably, a matter of some debate, and I agree that consideration could usefully be taken to how scores might be improved. However, A Level scores are not always indicative of actual intellectual ability, particularly in regards younger trainees. Other factors, such as interpersonal skills, must also be taken into account. It should also be noted that the actual A’ Level scores of UG entrants are much higher than the published tariVs, possibly reflecting levels of demand (actual entry scores are 280.1 compared to an average tariV of 198) and appear to be rising. At my own institution we are setting a tariV of three ‘B’s at A level in our forthcoming prospectus for prospective undergraduate primary teacher trainees. April 2009

67 2008 Ofsted report: How well new teachers are prepared to teach pupils with learning diYculties and/or disabilities. 68 TDA 2007 survey of newly qualiﬁed teachers. 69 TDA “research bite-sized” 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [SO] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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Monday 27 April 2009

Members present: Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman)

Annette Brooke Fiona Mactaggart Mr David Chaytor Derek Twigg

Memorandum submitted by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) Introduction 1. The NUT welcomes the decision of the Select Committee to conduct an inquiry into the current nature and quality of initial teacher training and teachers’ continuing professional development. 2. The NUT is the only organisation to have developed its own CPD programme for teachers. Since the launch of its pilot programme in 1999, the NUT has provided high quality CPD opportunities for thousands of teachers, members and non-members alike, throughout England and Wales. Its response will therefore reflect its dual role as a CPD provider and as the largest teachers’ union in England. 3. The NUT has played a key role in ensuring that government policy on continuing professional development supports the profession. It has a broad involvement in initial and continuing teacher development and training through regular meetings with organisations such as the Standing Council for the Education and Training of Teachers (SCETT) and the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). The NUT is recognised as important to the process of developing national policies and programmes that meet teachers’ needs in terms of CPD. This has led to a wide range of partnership programmes being developed as part of the NUT CPD programme such as the successful NUT/National College of School Leadership’s “Equal Access to Promotion” programme for black and minority ethnic teachers. 4. Creating an entitlement to high quality professional development which teachers can own and recognise as important to their pedagogy is a holy grail which has neither been realised by previous governments nor this Government. The James Report of 1971 argued for just such an entitlement and set out a national strategy to achieve that goal. The Report’s proposals were never implemented. One consequence of the 1998 Government Green Paper, Teachers—Meeting the Challenge of Change was the development of a National Professional Development Strategy for teachers launched in 2001. This was both imaginative, (oVering teacher bursaries, Best Practice Research Scholarships, funded early professional development, and one term secondments for the toughest schools) and inclusive—in that it inspired teachers and their organisations across education. It was also short-lived. The strategy was curtailed in 2003. 5. Post-2003 a new Professional Development Strategy for teachers was developed. The material outcome of the new strategy was the provision of post-graduate professional development (PPD) and delivering the Government’s commitment to introducing a Masters for Teaching and Learning (MTL). The reality is that the PPD oVer is available to a small number of teachers and the MTL will focus on newly qualified teachers, new heads of department, and a single teacher in each National Challenge school. PPD and the MTL, therefore, are only a very partial proxy for a comprehensive oVer and currently appear to many teachers as requiring an intensive burst of extra work over a relatively short period of time; the antithesis of the concept of continuing professional development. That is not to say that the MTL will not provide a genuine oVer to a particular group of teachers but it cannot meet the objective of creating an entitlement to CPD for all teachers. 6. The NUT recognises, of course, that CPD takes place currently in many forms. If eVectiveness is defined as the depth to which learning is embedded over time. The NUT itself, with its own CPD Programme, oVers some of the most eVective models. Indeed, it was left to the National Union of Teachers in the year 2000 to invest £70,000 in an EPPI Research Review conducted by CUREE to identify the best model for professional development; that of sustained collaborative CPD, for its programmes. 7. The National Strategies have their role and place, although the roll out of the Strategies has sometimes left teachers and head teachers, feeling disempowered. They fail, however, to be matched by the equally important concept of a funded entitlement to CPD for each teacher whose use is determined by teachers themselves. 8. If there is one recommendation the National Union of Teachers would make to the Select Committee, it is that the Government should launch, in partnership with the teaching profession, a national CPD strategy for teachers. The NUT uses such a phrase advisedly. It was a mistake for the Government and the Training and Development Agency to subsume its National Reference Group for teachers continuing professional development into a Wider Workforce professional development strategy. Merging and blurring the needs of the wider workforce and teachers does neither group of school staV any favours. The development of a professional development strategy for support staV should parallel that of a strategy for teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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9. The submission below focuses, in detail, on recommendations for the development of a comprehensive strategy for teachers’ CPD. While there are a number of aspects to the McKinsey Report, How the World’s Best Performing School Systems Come Out on Top (2007) with which the National Union of Teachers would disagree, its statement that, “the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” seems self evident. That concept should be the focus of a future national CPD strategy. 10. The National Union of Teachers would welcome the opportunity to give oral evidence to the Inquiry given its unique experience as a teacher organisation in providing a full range of high quality professional development. The NUT’s recommendations contained within this submission are summarised within the Annex.

1. Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; and 11. The Government first attempted to describe the characteristics of good quality teaching in autumn 2001, when it established a framework of Professional Standards for Teachers. The Standards were not, however, all developed at the same time by the same agency. For example, prior to the revision of the whole Standards framework in 2007, the QTS Standards, introduced in 1998, were changed in 2002. The Induction Standards were first introduced in 1999 and revised in 2003. The Head Teacher Standards, which have now been removed from the Professional Standards for Teachers, were first introduced in 1997 and revised in 2001 and 2005. They are currently being consulted upon again, with a view to implementation in September 2009. 12. The idea of what makes a “good” teacher or head teacher will naturally change over time, but it is questionable whether such a fundamental concept should change substantially every three to four years. Frequent revisions to expectations about “good teaching” also limit the extent to which teachers can familiarise themselves with and embed in their daily practice these expectations. 13. Numerous national and international research programmes have also attempted to define what makes a good teacher. It is still unclear, however, how much influence teachers have over student achievement and what specific teacher attributes lead to higher student achievement. For instance, does holding a Master’s degree make one a better teacher? Do the best teachers hail from the “best” universities? The diYculty from a policy perspective is that the relationship between readily quantifiable attributes such as a teacher’s highest degree attained or level of experience and student outcomes is tenuous at best. In other words, good teachers certainly make a diVerence, but it is unclear exactly what makes for a good teacher. 14. Teachers’ education (degree) and experience levels are probably the most widely studied teacher attributes because they are easy to measure. The Programme for International Student Assessment1 asked school leaders to indicate the percentage of teachers with a university-level qualification in their respective subject area. Having more of these teachers was associated with better student results. For example, in reading, a 25 percentage point increase in the proportion of teachers with a university-level qualification in the relevant subject was associated with an advantage of nine points on the reading literacy scale, on average across OECD countries. There is also some evidence that experienced teachers are more eVective with students, but the benefits of additional years of experience appear to level oV early in a teacher’s career. 15. There is also evidence2 to suggest that teachers’ knowledge of their subject matter, as measured by relevant degrees, CPD courses, and certification in that area, is associated with high performance. Studies with more detailed measures of teachers’ education levels and coursework in subject areas found that, in particular for mathematics and science, academic preparation does positively influence student achievement. 16. The influence of how teachers teach, or pedagogy, is more hotly debated as there is little research directly assessing the influence of pedagogical training on student outcomes. A DCSF-commissioned report3 found that more eVective teachers use appropriate teaching skills consistently and eVectively in the course of all their lessons and suggested some 35 teaching skills or “micro-behaviours” that the eVective teacher constantly exhibits when teaching a class. It concluded that “pupil progress outcomes are aVected more by a teacher’s skills and professional characteristics than by factors such as their sex, qualifications or experience”. There is certainly a need, however, for more research on eVective pedagogy and more support for teachers to improve this aspect of their practice. 17. The NUT believes that teachers at the edge of developments in their subjects and in their pedagogy are likely to be good teachers. The enthusiasm about their learning and development is an essential building block for encouraging young people’s enthusiasm for their own learning. The DCSF runs numerous websites which pick up exemplars of pedagogy practice, but those exemplars are chosen and mediated by the Government itself.

1 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Knowledge and Skills for Life—First Results from PISA 2000, OECD, 2001. 2 Eg Goldhaber, D, The Mystery of Good Teaching, Hoover Institution, 2002. 3 Research into Teacher EVectiveness: A Model of Teacher EVectiveness—Report by Hay McBer, Department for Education and Employment, June 2000 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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18. To further enhance teaching quality, teachers need their own pedagogic bank from which they can draw. A site should be established which is overseen and managed by teachers. It should provide a space for the exchange of innovative pedagogy.Responsibility for its overall management and development could rest jointly with the teacher organisations and the GTC(E) with funding support provided by the Government.

NUT Recommendations — The Framework of Professional Standards should not be subject to frequent change, in order to facilitate its use by the profession. — Teachers’ organisations and the General Teaching Council for England should establish a collective bank of teaching practice (a pedagogic bank) from which they can draw. Funding support should be provided by government. — Further research should be commissioned on eVective pedagogy, which takes in to account the impact of school context and the extent to which teachers may exercise pedagogic autonomy.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. 19. Although the NUT welcomed the establishment of the Standards Framework as a tool for teachers to use in order to identify their professional development needs and plan their own career progression, it has serious concerns about how the Standards may be used to measure quality. 20. In 2007, the Government added pay progression to the purposes of the Professional Standards. They are not Standards against which teachers measure their current practice and identify their professional needs. Both sets of Standards are seen by teachers as forms of job description which have to be fulfilled if they are to achieve pay progression. 21. A number of the current Standards are remarkably vague and subjective. Post Threshold Standard 1, for example, “Contribute significantly, where appropriate, to implementing workplace policies and practice and to promoting collective responsibility for their implementation”, may have a political meaning to the drafters of the Standards, but it is meaningless to the vast majority of teachers. 22. Other Standards are equally vague and subjective. It appears that the process adopted for formulating the 2007 Standards Framework has produced a result which departs alarmingly from the normally accepted practice by which measurable objectivity is achieved in prescribing rules having statutory eVect. The NUT considers this to be a wholly unacceptable trend. 23. By calling on teachers to demonstrate that they have achieved a set of Standards, the onus is on head teachers as assessors to make subjective judgements about teacher quality. This can have other outcomes. Teachers’ vulnerability to arbitrary treatment and discrimination has increased. Head teachers have become more vulnerable to accusations of bias and discrimination. The possibility of arbitrary and excessive demands for evidence have become more likely. 24. There are simply too many aims and objectives within the current Professional Standards Framework for them to be used for measuring the quality of teaching. They are “statements of a teacher’s professional attributes, professional knowledge and understanding, and professional skills. They provide clarity of the expectations at each career stage”; they “provide the framework for a teacher’s career and clarify what progression looks like”; “clarify the professional characteristics that a teacher should be expected to maintain and to build on at their current career stage”; “support teachers in identifying their professional development needs”; and “provide a backdrop to discussions about how a teacher’s performance should be viewed”.4 Whilst many of the Standards may be suitable for describing progression in CPD, for example, they do not stand the test of being objective Standards for the purposes of measuring quality, to enable pay progression. 25. Ofsted also attempts to assess the quality of teaching. Its school inspection framework requires inspectors to evaluate: (a) how well teaching and/or training and resources promote learning, address the full range of learners’ needs and meet course or programme requirements; (b) the suitability and rigour of assessment in planning and monitoring learners’ progress; and (c) the identification of, and provision for, additional learning needs. 26. Ofsted’s definition of “good” teaching includes secure subject knowledge; the provision of a well- structured range of stimulating tasks that engage learners; appropriate matching of work to the full range of learners’ needs and the use of teaching methods which are eVectively related to the lesson objectives and the needs of learners. It is not best placed, however, to make authoritative judgements on the quality of teaching because of the “snapshot” nature of its observations, which may only be of five minutes’ duration and the high stakes nature of inspection itself, which may lead teachers to “play safe” rather than use more innovative teaching approaches. It is therefore more appropriate for schools themselves to take responsibility for on-going assessment of teacher quality.

4 Training and Development Agency for Schools, Professional Standards for Teachers in England, TDA 2007. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27. The experience of the National Union of Teachers, as a provider of Continuing Professional Development, has produced a great deal of information, from research and evaluations by teachers, about what constitutes high quality CPD and the yardsticks against which quality can be measured. 28. When the NUT’s CPD Programme was launched in 2000, there was substantial evidence that many teachers were dissatisfied with the CPD provided for or available to them. This was due, in part, to the absence of an entitlement to professional development; partly because what they did participate in was of poor quality; and also because they were, too often, not suYciently engaged in the experience. The last of these was as the result of the lack of focus on their own professional interests and needs. Too much of the CPD available to teachers was driven by agendas determined by others, rather than designed to start from their knowledge and understanding and then nurture and inform their professional judgement. 29. The NUT recognised that it was in a unique position to provide professional development which could enhance teachers’ engagement and, thereby, increase participants’ potential for learning and the impact that, in turn, had on their pupils/students. CPD provided by the NUT itself could provide a “no threat, no blame” learning ethos. This would allow teachers to honestly self-evaluate and address their own genuine strengths and weaknesses. Because the NUT’s CPD Programme was not beholden to any orthodoxy or short-term political agenda, it could focus on what teachers themselves identified as their learning needs and aspirations. 30. To ensure that NUT’s CPD Programme oVered high quality opportunities which teachers and school leaders would want to sign up to, the NUT published aims for its Programme. Philippa Cordingley, Director of the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education, who acted as a key independent consultant during the development of the Programme, described these as: — starting from what teachers know and can do already; — focusing on classroom evidence; — stimulating and supporting school-based learning by providing external expertise; and — incorporating sustained opportunities for participants to experiment with and apply new approaches and teaching strategies in their classrooms. 31. A set of “hallmarks” to spell out how the Programme would deliver its aims was adopted. These focused on: — informing and enhancing teachers’ professional judgements; — providing “no threat, no blame” learning opportunities; — emphasising the value of teachers learning from other teachers; — continuing to learn from evidence about teaching and learning and successful CPD; — responding to teachers’ own career development needs and aspirations—maximising relevance; — developing partnerships with experts and other organisations with CPD expertise; and — building on teachers’ participation in the Programme by establishing networks and providing extended or sustained professional development opportunities. 32. Continuous evaluation by participants and positive feedback from tutors and others associated with the Programme have shown that these “hallmarks” have stood the test of time and they remain the principles guiding the NUT’s CPD Programme. They continue to influence the organisation and structure of the professional learning opportunities provided; guide the teaching, learning, behaviour and leadership content of those opportunities; and underpin the professional relationship between the provider, tutors and participants. The consequence has been that the learning and development of participating teachers has been maximised. 33. To expand the evidence-base for the development of its CPD Programme, the Union commissioned the first EPPI review, and part-funded the second, into the characteristics of eVective CPD for teachers. This grew into a series of reviews of previous research findings, undertaken by the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education, which has continued to provide very valuable benchmarks against which the eVectiveness of the NUT’s CPD Programme can be compared. In the main, these reviews have validated the aims and hallmarks guiding NUT CPD Programme. They have further emphasised the importance of collaborative and sustained learning involving input from experts as essential ingredients if CPD is to have a lasting and positive impact on teachers’ classroom and leadership practice. 34. Awareness and knowledge about what is likely to maximise the benefits of professional development continues to grow. This is essential because, as Philippa Cordingley wrote recently: “The starting points for teacher learning are more complex than those for pupils because they involve an already established set of skills, knowledge, values and beliefs that will have been internalised. Such internalisation is important for managing complexity. It isn’t possible to make the second-by-second judgements that dynamic classroom interaction demands without having assimilated a wide range of knowledge, ideas and skills in a tacit form. But this means in turn that changing such knowledge and skills requires both a process to make them explicit and some challenging unlearning.” (Sauce for the Goose—CUREE, 2008) Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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35. Within the structure and organisation provided by the NUT’s CPD Programme, independent tutors seek to facilitate amongst participating teachers and school leaders, a high level of engagement and discussion. This helps participants to make “explicit” the experiences and challenges they face. Then, aided by “expert” specialist input, they plan changes which can be tried out in their everyday work in classrooms and schools. Finally, with their pupils/students, their colleagues, and other professionals and parents involved, participants can reflect on and evaluate what impact changes have had. 36. The learning opportunities provided by the NUT’s CPD Programme thus become a stimulus to the process of “learn, plan, implement, reflect and review”, which should drive and continue throughout a teacher’s career. 37. The cumulative benefits of such a professional process are the enrichment and enhancement of teachers’ professional judgements. Professional judgement is increasingly informed by: evidence and new knowledge; feedback from pupils/students; input from experts; evaluation and coaching by peers and colleagues; eVective leadership; and the views of parents, the community and the socio-political context. Professional judgement allows teachers to respond eVectively to the multiplicity of teaching and learning interactions they experience every day and match the changing expectations upon them to the learning needs of their pupils. 38. The ingredients of eVective continuing professional development can valuably be incorporated in hallmarks, codes of practice and guidelines. However, ultimately, the quality of CPD for teachers must be determined by the degree to which it informs and enhances the ability of each and every participating teacher to make informed sensitive and precise professional judgements which motivate pupils/students and ensure that their learning needs and aspirations are met.

NUT Recommendations — Professional development should not be linked, via the Professional Standards or other mechanisms, to teachers’ pay. — The limitations of the Ofsted “snapshot” approach to assessing teaching quality should be acknowledged and more emphasis given in school accountability mechanisms to schools’ self evaluation.

2. Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT 39. Too often the debate about ITT is predicated solely on the number of graduates coming into teaching. The issue is, however, whether teacher training providers are able to recruit the “right” people into teaching. 40. The current statutory requirements for ITT providers place much emphasis on the qualifications and academic ability of candidates. Four out of the nine discrete requirements for entry to ITT relate to this. Candidates must not only hold a first degree, but also GCSE or an equivalent qualification in English, mathematics and, for primary trainees, science. Given these requirements, it is unclear why candidates must also be able to demonstrate they are able to “read eVectively and be able to communicate clearly and accurately in Standard English” and “have the intellectual capabilities needed to meet the required QTS Standards”. The dominance of academic qualifications in the entry requirements is particularly perplexing given the need to pass the QTS Skills Tests in English, mathematics and ICT before QTS can be awarded. It would make far more sense to rationalise these requirements by using the Skills Tests, in addition to a degree, as the academic entry requirements. 41. This might enable more attention to be paid to the personal attributes of candidates and their suitability for teaching. At the moment, in addition to the practical requirements that candidates should be subject to a Criminal Records Bureau check, meet the Secretary of State’s requirements for health and physical capacity to teach and be provisionally registered with the GTC(E), there are only two requirements which focus on the personal characteristics of candidates. Providers must conduct interviews to assess candidates’ suitability to teach and candidates must demonstrate that they “possess the appropriate qualities, attitudes and values expected of a teacher”. 42. How this might be achieved and applied consistently, given that ITT providers design their own interview and assessment processes, remains unclear. Indeed, the “qualities, attitudes and values expected of a teacher” are currently the subject of a GTC(E) consultation on its Code of Practice and Conduct. Whilst supporting ITT providers’ autonomy, it would be useful to explore the potential for some kind of standardisation of this aspect of the selection procedure, perhaps by requiring candidates to undertake a period of voluntary work within schools prior to interview, so that consideration of their possession of appropriate values and attitudes would be rooted in the evidence provided in the placement school. 43. Such an approach would also provide candidates with genuine experience of working in schools before they began training, which might go some way to reduce the ITT drop-out rate. TDA data shows that approximately 12% drop out during their ITT course. Non-completion is regularly higher for secondary courses, although this may be due to the fact that substantially more primary trainees follow the B.Ed route and only those in the fourth year of the course are counted by the TDA. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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NUT Recommendations — Consideration should be given to standardising the ITT selection process, including candidates spending a period of time in schools prior to their interview by ITT providers. — The academic requirements or ITT should be reviewed, including exploring the potential to incorporate the QTS Skills Tests into the entry requirements.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 44. The supply model for ITT employed in England is one developed by the DCSF. It is a simple model based on national population figures and projected trends in the workforce. Places in ITT were, until very recently, funded on an annual basis and now use a three year allocation model, meaning there is no longer term view of training needs, which in turn impacts upon the ability of providers to undertake long term planning, particularly in terms of staYng. 45. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) allocates funded places to ITT providers around the country. The system by which this process operates is directly related to the quality of provision as reflected by Ofsted inspection grades. The lack of consideration given to local and regional need by this system can lead to a gap between demand and supply, particularly as there is a strong tendency for teachers to seek employment near to the location of their initial training. 46. Even if there appeared to be suYcient numbers of teachers nationally, they might not necessarily be in the right place or have the appropriate specialism. The NUT is aware of significant numbers of newly qualified teacher members in the north east, north west and south west of England, for example, who have been unable to secure an inductable teaching post after qualification and who, because of personal commitments, are unable to move out of the area in which they trained to seek employment. As many of these people have been forced to look for alternative careers, the ITT allocation model may therefore actually contribute to teachers leaving the profession. 47. All ITT courses are expected to recruit as near to their targets as possible. There is, therefore, external pressure on the interviewing system, which may lead to some students who are not suited to the profession slipping through the net. 48. ITT providers are under enormous pressure. They have to recruit to their targets or they lose funding which, in turn, will lead to cutbacks in provision. At the same time, they have to recruit good students. The current ITT inspection system works on an output model and judges the quality of the course by the quality of the trainee, 75% or more of whom are expected to be “good” or “very good”. To give a student the benefit of the doubt at interview is to take a huge risk—one student could lead to the closing down of a course. 49. It is evident that over a number of years the teacher training institutions have struggled to meet the secondary teacher training targets, particularly in certain subjects. In 2008, for example, the TDA reported shortfalls against ITT recruitment targets in ICT, science, mathematics, geography and modern foreign languages. 50. To reflect the falling secondary school population, most of the TDA’s training targets for 2008–10 were reduced. Any fall in the number of applicants for a particular subject do not this year, therefore, have as serious implications as they would have if these targets had remained the same or had increased. They still, however, reduce choice for ITT providers and can put pressure on providers to recruit candidates who might not otherwise have been considered potentially good teachers. This is particularly the case for the secondary shortage subjects, where ITT providers recruit a very high proportion of candidates. As noted above, the selection of candidates is important not only for their future performance as a teacher but whether, in fact they will complete ITT and become a teacher at all.

NUT Recommendation — The Government should conduct an independent review of the management of ITT place allocation. Such a review would take into account the desirability of long-term planning for ITT providers; national and regional projected teacher vacancy rates; and the need to balance quality with quantity of candidates, particularly for secondary shortage subjects.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 51. Traditionally, potential teachers could choose between a four year undergraduate education degree course or take a one year PGCE course after they had gained a first degree. In 1990, a total of 11,838 students were recruited to B.Ed courses (9,524 primary, 2,314 secondary) compared to 11,956 PGCE (4,806 primary, 7,150 secondary). By 2000, the number enrolling on B.Ed courses had dropped dramatically: 8,960 (7,330 primary, 1,630 secondary) compared to 21,150 on PGCE courses (7,090 primary, 14,060 secondary). This trend has continued to the extent that B.Ed courses attracted only 6,690 students in total in 2006–07, compared to 22,600 for the PGCE. The growth in ITT has, therefore, been predominantly in terms of PGCE courses, highly influenced by Government financial incentives aimed exclusively at students on such courses. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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52. Although trainees on undergraduate ITT programmes are entitled to the same level of financial support as other undergraduates, they do not automatically qualify for special funding. However, PGCE students do have access to additional support, such as training grants (partly means-tested); tax-free training bursaries; and one-oV “golden hello” payments for teachers of priority subjects, payable after trainees successfully complete their induction year in a state-funded school. The NUT has argued consistently for parity in the financial support available for all trainee teachers, regardless of their training route, to enable potential teachers to choose the training route which is right for them. 53. The other major development in ITT has been the rise of employment-based routes, which are also typically of one year’s duration and have financial incentives attached. From the introduction of the school- centred initial teacher training (SCITT) initiative, the trend towards training “on the job” has been promoted by Government through the Graduate Teacher, Registered Teacher and Overseas Trained Teacher programmes and, more recently, Teach First. OYcial figures5 show that these programmes have expanded rapidly, from 2,440 trainees in 2001–02 to 7,840 in 2006–07. Their popularity is doubtlessly linked to the fact that trainees on the employment-based ITT routes are paid a salary by their employer, making it a particularly attractive route for career changers or those with family commitments. 54. It is clear, however, from the findings of both NUT6 and Ofsted7 research, that there is significant variation in the type, quality and organisation of training and support experienced by trainees on the employment based routes. 55. As valuable as the employment-based routes to teaching are, a false dichotomy accompanied the introduction of school-based initial teacher training; that practical training experience in the classroom was more important than “theory”. It is an absurd dichotomy.Theoretical knowledge should, in fact, provide the research basis for eVective pedagogy.It should provide the rationale for learning and teaching, for classroom management, for child development and for responding to pupil behaviour. An understanding of key research studies and methodology should be seen as essential equipment for teaching. 56. There is certainly some evidence to suggest that trainees’ professional knowledge and understanding is not always well developed currently. In the NUT survey questions which related to training needs, some respondents needed further practical training such as how to plan, assess or diVerentiate and subject specific content. Among a minority of respondents there was also a need for more theoretical input such as in child development, teaching and learning styles and curriculum studies. This observation would appear to be supported by the Ofsted finding that primary GRTP (Graduate and Registered Teacher Programmes) trainees had a good understanding of the content of the National Strategies frameworks for literacy and numeracy but not of the principles or research underpinning it. 57. In addition, it is important to note that a number of NUT members who gained QTS through the GTP route have reported diYculties with the qualifications being recognised overseas. Australia, Canada, South Africa and some American states consider the GTP to have less academic rigour than the traditional undergraduate or PGCE route to QTS. Despite representations by the NUT to the TDA, GTP applicants are still not made aware of this prior to accepting a place on the programme. 58. It could be argued that the employment-based routes give a narrower image of the teacher as a professional and that, with a focus on school based learning and access to more theoretical studies from external sources limited, trainees are not always aware of the importance, or even existence, of gaps in their training programmes. 59. The input provided to trainees by school based mentors in this respect is critical, yet their ability to provide high quality support to trainees may be limited by lack of time or training. The NUT has supported members in a number of schools involved in ITT where insuYcient support and/or reward for the responsibilities connected with ITT were provided, including instances where acting as a mentor was simply added to existing job descriptions without consultation. 60. For this reason, the NUT believes that the role of mentor should be a specific post of responsibility within schools with guarantees of reduced timetables given to mentors to carry out their roles. Training to be a mentor should be integral to a specific national professional development programme developed jointly by schools, including training schools, and colleges. Compensation should be provided to schools while teachers train to be mentors. 61. There would appear to be a clear link between the progress of trainees and their teaching commitments. In primary schools, a substantial number of employment-based trainees undertake a full teaching timetable in addition to their training. It would be extremely problematic for all but the most experienced to take on a demanding full time teaching post whilst at the same time undertaking the necessary reading, written assignments and study specified in their training plans. 62. Allied to this concern about the lack of opportunity for trainees to undertake suYcient training to meet their needs is the perception that the employment-based programmes represent “teaching on the cheap” or can be used by unscrupulous (or desperate) schools to fill vacancies. Whilst this appears to be only

5 Hansard, 30 October 2008 : Column 1318W 6 National Union of Teachers, The Graduate and Registered Teacher Programmes: National Union of Teachers’ Survey of Members, NUT, 2003. 7 Ofsted, An Employment-Based Route into Teaching 2003–06, HMI 2664, 2007 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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the experience of a minority of trainees, there are currently few legal constraints on schools and ITT providers in ensuring a reasonable balance between teaching and training for the employment-based programmes. The NUT believes that there is an urgent need for a minimum entitlement to guaranteed, protected time for training for all those who undertake these programmes, in the same way that newly qualified teachers in England have a statutory entitlement to a reduced teaching timetable. 63. Despite the range of routes into teaching which are currently available, the NUT does not believe that potential trainees are able to base their choice of route solely on its quality because of the linkage of financial incentives with various routes. These financial incentives also feature strongly in the TDA’s publicity materials which, it could be argued, should focus more on the skills and attributes needed to become a good teacher. 64. The NUT believes that the decline in the number of undergraduate degree courses in education has been a retrograde development. Students on one year PGCE or employment-based routes may receive a basic preparation necessary for teaching, but they do not receive the time they need to explore, in depth, the relationship of the curriculum to the development of children’s knowledge, eVective pedagogy, child development and the five Every Child Matters outcomes. The significant amount of time PGCE spend on school placements further inhibits the time available to spend on such matters. 65. Peter Mortimore’s proposals in, An Education System for the 21st Century, provided an accurate, comparative analysis of initial teacher training in England. “This training—good though it is in comparison with many other countries—still falls short of the Finnish model. There, all teachers study for at least five years and qualify with the equivalent of a Masters Degree. The predicted falling of the school population provides a golden opportunity for England to move to a similar pattern of training. Many commentators see the high level of teaching training as one of the crucial reasons for the success of Finnish young people in the PISA test. Perhaps this [is] a moment for Government to invest in a two-year PGCE?” 66. Rather than continue to promote the basic one year PGCE or employment-based model of ITT, the NUT believes the time is now right, given the Government’s pilot scheme for the new Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) for teachers in their first five years of teaching, for the concept and relevance of a Masters qualification to be re-examined, such that it can be integrated into ITT courses, induction and continuing professional development. The provision of the option to PGCE trainees to access Masters level credits during the courses is an encouraging development. It should be seen by Government as part of the development of a seamless ITT/CPD continuum in teachers’ professional learning. Relevant Masters Degrees need to be developed, as they have been in Finland, which reflect qualified teachers’ practical knowledge and pedagogy.

NUT Recommendations — While there is merit in the MTL being integrated into initial teacher training courses, induction and teachers’ continuing professional development, it should not provide the only route to a Masters nor should it be imposed. Initial teacher training should be integrated within a national professional development strategy for teachers. The MTL must be properly funded and the facility provided to teachers taking Masters for sabbatical time in order to complete written assignments and engage in tutorials. In short, the MTL should be properly funded, be genuinely voluntary for teachers, and be available as an option to all teachers. — The Government should explore whether Post Graduate Certificate of Education and employment-based ITT courses should become two year programmes. Such a proposal is dependent on all Initial Teacher Training (ITT) students receiving suYcient grant aid, including support for tuition fees. — All schools where there are students involved in teacher training should have mentors with specific posts of responsibility. — Variation in the type, quality and organisation of training and support experienced by employment-based ITT trainees should be investigated as a matter of urgency. — B.Ed and PGCE trainees should have access to the same level of financial incentives and support.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 67. It is not only the overall ITT recruitment targets that are important but also how they are met. Teaching’s lack of success in tapping the widest pool of potential applicants may mean the profile of those accepted on training courses does not adequately reflect the needs of schools, or wider society, in terms of gender, age, ethnic background and location. It may also fail to harness all the talents of the widest possible pool of potential teachers, to make the education system “world class”. 68. As one in five pupils in maintained primary schools and one in six in secondary schools are now from ethnic minorities, it is particularly important that recruits to the profession reflects the diverse society they will serve. Many pupils may find it easier to understand and relate to a teacher who mirrors the cultural diversity of the pupil population. Diversity in the teaching workforce is also an eVective way of encouraging young people to understand and value diversity in society as a whole, contributing to social cohesion. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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69. Men (in primary) and ethnic minority groups have historically been under-represented on ITT courses. Since 1997, the TDA has taken a number of steps to address this issue. These appear to be having some success. The latest figures from the TDA show that 15% of pupils in secondary and 18% of pupils in primary maintained schools are from minority ethnic groups compared to 12% of new entrants to ITT in 2006. This exceeded the national target of 10.5% considerably.The increase in the proportion of men training to be primary teachers is more modest but has still risen from 13% in 2001–02 to 16% of applicants in 2007–08. 70. Retention of minority ethnic teacher trainees into the profession is, however, a significant problem. 24% failed to achieve Qualified Teacher Status in 2005–06 compared to just 12% for white trainees. The reasons for this drop out rate are complex. From the work the TDA has done to date, it would appear to encompass a number of factors, from personal circumstances and family commitments, which are also commonly cited by all those leaving ITT early, to the high level of minority ethnic trainees studying mathematics and ICT, ITT courses which have traditionally had high drop out rates. As noted above, retention of those recruited to ITT courses, both during their training and in terms of taking up a teaching post after gaining QTS, is a serious issue for ITT in general and it would appear that as much if not more attention now needs to be given to this aspect as to recruitment. 71. There is limited research evidence available to inform national strategies to recruit and retain these groups in the profession. Most of the evidence appears to agree, however, that both male and ethnic minority recruits to teaching have misgivings about the perceived low status and rewards of the profession and concern about teachers’ heavy workloads. These are the same issues raised by all ITT students and are amongst the chief causes of drop out from courses. In addition, in terms of potential male candidates, working with children, particularly of primary age, may be associated with a more “female” caring role. 72. Some research8 suggests that black and Asian trainees may be attracted to teaching by the prospect of becoming role models for minority ethnic children although this is not accepted by all minority ethnic entrants to the profession, some of whom are reported as resenting being cast as advocates for black and Asian pupils or viewed as experts on their cultures.9 73. A report commissioned by the TDA10 found that many minority ethnic trainees were anxious about the possible reception they may receive on teaching placements in predominantly white schools, although the diYculties actually encountered by those who worked in such settings were little diVerent from those teaching in multi-ethnic schools. This suggests that the problem lies more in the expectation than in the reality and that more eVort is needed to deal with these concerns at an earlier stage. 74. The same report highlighted a number of administrative obstacles to the recruitment of ethnic minority trainees, in particular, diYculties were reported in handling applications from candidates from overseas, especially from outside the EU. The NUT has supported many overseas trained teachers who have experienced diYculty in accessing ITT in order to gain QTS and continue teaching in England, especially in light of the tightening up of requirements for all OTTs to have gained QTS within four years. 75. There continue to be diYculties in such teachers securing initial assessments of their training needs by providers, which in turn has led to problems accessing appropriate ITT within the time limit. The complexities, and expense incurred by the trainee, in confirming their overseas qualifications is also problematic, as some NUT OTT members have reported that the National Recognition Information Centre for the UK (NARIC) processes for academic confirmation are bureaucratic and not always helpful to ITT providers’ assessment of their level of qualification. They also do not take into account teaching experience undertaken in the country of qualification. 76. It will be important for the Committee therefore to re-examine all aspects of the selection and admissions process for overseas applicants and remove any other essentially bureaucratic barriers. 77. The “hidden costs” incurred by those following ITT courses may also be a factor in limiting the diversity of the profession. Teacher training students, like many other students, not only pay tuition fees for being on their course, but continue to use their own funds to pay for essentials to achieve QTS. Student teachers often have to pay to travel to their placements that can be anywhere within their wider region; for equipment, often course specific like lab coats; or to make up for the lack of resources where they might be on placement. 78. All of these costs are prohibitive to students, particularly those from lower income families and may therefore have a direct eVect on the ability of all suitable potential applicants to become teacher trainees. The NUT and NUS have been working together to challenge the hidden costs of undertaking a teaching training course while defending and extending the budgets in institutions that cover travel, equipment and under-resourcing costs as key requirements of ITT programmes. The Committee should consider that extent to which the prospect of hardship while training is a major deterrent to otherwise well-qualified entrants.

8 eg, Gariewal R, Experiences of Racism in Initial Teacher Training, 1999 9 Eg Wolverhampton Race Equality Council Consortium, Recruitment and Retention of Teachers from the Ethnic Minority Communities, 1999. 10 Carrington, B et al, Ethnicity and the Professional Socialisation of Teachers: Report to the Teacher Training Agency, Universities of Hertfordshire, Loughborough and Newcastle/TTA, 2001. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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NUT Recommendations — Further research evidence should be commissioned on the factors which contribute to the withdrawal of minority ethnic trainees from ITT courses. — The administrative and initial assessment processes for overseas trained teachers seeking to gain QTS should be reviewed. — Costs incurred by trainees as part of ITT school placements should be met centrally.

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings 79. The current QTS Standards provide an adequate basis for the design of appropriate ITT courses by providers. There is, however, a notable bias in the amount of time spent in ITT on delivery of the National Strategies in particular, according to anecdotal evidence from NUT student members. This leaves many of them feeling that important practical issues such as behaviour management are not covered in enough depth, evidenced by the high demand for the NUT’s own CPD courses for “just qualified” and newly qualified teachers. 80. The NUT also believes that the QTS Standards should enable and encourage newly qualified teachers to undertake curriculum design or innovation themselves. The ability to exercise creativity is often cited as an attractive aspect of teaching as a career and the lack of opportunities to exercise it is frequently given as a cause for leaving the profession. The addition of knowledge about curriculum design within the QTS Standards would not only benefit practice within schools, but also recruitment and retention. Such a Standard could also feed into those relating to developing subject expertise further in the Standards for later stages of teachers’ careers. 81. The current QTS Standards provide clear guidance to ITT providers, schools and trainees that cultural, social and linguistic diversity is an essential part of the education of new teachers. These include requiring trainees to diVerentiate their teaching with particular reference to more able and SEN pupils, supporting pupils learning English as an additional language and demonstrating awareness of and respect for pupils’ social, cultural, linguistic, religious and ethnic backgrounds. This provision could be improved still further by references to issues such as working in mono-cultural and single sex schools. 82. A survey by the TDA found, however, that 68% of newly qualified teachers did not feel that their initial teacher training focused suYciently on how to teach in an ethnically diverse classroom.11 By implication, many newly qualified teachers did not feel that they had the confidence and/or ability to fully meet the needs of minority ethnic pupils, including those with high mobility and English as an additional language. The provision of initial teacher training that enables teachers to become more confident and eVective practitioners in a multi-ethnic and multi-racial society is essential. In addition, the inclusion of a community cohesion module in initial training and on-going career development of teachers would be useful. 83. There is still a need for pastoral aspects of teachers’ work, within the context of Every Child Matters and the Common Core of Skills and Knowledge for the Children’s Workforce, to be addressed much more explicitly in the QTS Standards if it is to capture the essence of teachers’ day-to-day work as well as respond to these new policy developments. 84. Whilst the primary focus of teachers’ work is unquestionably pupils’ academic progress, the QTS Standards need to reflect the actuality of teachers’ practice, which is based on concern for the development of the child as a whole. The QTS Standards could be strengthened further by references to having knowledge about and taking action informed by knowledge of child development. This holistic approach to the whole child is particularly important given the need for the QTS Standards to have relevance to the initial training of early years teachers. 85. The Common Core has a whole strand on “observation and judgement”, to reflect the importance of such skills in recognising developmental delay or behaviour changes. These would have a direct impact on pupils’ academic progress and, as such, are therefore necessarily part of what all teachers do, although many have received little or no training for it. The requirement within the Common Core that those working with children should “know that development includes emotional, physical, intellectual, social, moral and character growth, and know that they can all aVect one another”, would appear to be a much closer definition of what teachers need to know than what is contained within the QTS Standards currently. 86. Although secondary trainee teachers are expected to be aware of the pathways for progression through the 14–19 phase in school, college and work-based settings, secondary ITT retains a traditional school/academic subject focus, therefore trainee teachers are not able to study vocational subjects currently. In addition, trainees on the employment-based ITT routes such as the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) are also limited to traditional school subjects. This has proved a particular barrier to gaining QTS for experienced FE lecturers/tutors who wish to transfer to the school sector.

11 Teacher Training Agency, Newly Qualiﬁed Teachers Survey, TTA, 2004 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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87. The new ITT requirement on providers, to prepare all trainee teachers to teach across two or more consecutive age ranges would suggest that a greater emphasis could be placed on ITT provision specialising in the 14–19 age range but, unless this is supported by training opportunities for the full range of vocational subjects, it is unlikely that these developments would have much impact on making ITT more relevant to the needs of the reformed 14–19 curriculum. 88. The experience of the NUT as a provider of Continuing Professional Development for teachers and school leaders has illustrated two “truisms” which should continue to inform discussion about Initial Teacher Training. 89. Firstly, the need for professional development continues throughout teachers’ careers. Secondly, the high demand for “behaviour” CPD provided by the NUT (which is calibrated to meet teachers’ needs and interests at all stages of their careers) shows that professional learning and development cannot be categorised as a “done that” activity. 90. Teachers and school leaders need regular opportunities to review their experience; reflect on their practice; and plan their professional improvement in the context of ever-changing situations. As part of this process, teachers and school leaders are likely to wish and need to revisit, perhaps many times, aspects of teaching and learning, leadership and, as stated above, behaviour. 91. As well as being available throughout teachers’ careers, the provision of CPD should have a coherence that has often not been the case in the past. The most likely way to ensure this coherence is to maximise the control and choice that teachers, themselves, have within a rich and diverse range of accessible opportunities. A good teacher is increasingly recognised as being associated with modelling a good learner. At no stage of a teacher’s career, and certainly not at the initial qualification stage, should teachers be regarded as having reached their potential. The availability of CPD and individual teacher’s entitlement to it should reflect these understandings.

NUT Recommendations — ITT should aim to equip newly qualiﬁed teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary in order to exercise professional judgement rather than focus overly on “delivery” of the National Strategies. — The QTS Standards should give more emphasis to aspects of primary teachers’ day-to-day pastoral work and child development. — Child-development studies should be at the centre of initial teacher training and teachers’ continuing professional development. — Secondary ITT should provide more opportunities for those wishing to teach vocational subjects.

4. CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 92. There are a number of significant practical problems associated with current CPD provision for teachers and head teachers. These include: — There is no consistent equality of access to CPD throughout the education system. Unless the overwhelming majority of CPD and all that related to national and school priorities takes place within directed time, carers and those with other personal commitments are naturally disadvantaged. Supply teachers, those centrally employed and returnees to the profession all find it diYcult to access relevant CPD provision because they are not attached to one school. In addition, anecdotal evidence from NUT members suggests that the introduction of Planning, Preparation and Assessment time in primary schools has meant that some head teachers have reduced the time they give teachers during the school day for out of school CPD. — The emphasis given to professional development activities linked to national initiatives have squeezed the time and money available to schools for all CPD provision, restricting the opportunities for teachers to undertake professional development that is prioritised by them, rather than by government. — Conflicting demands on school leaders in terms of improving standards at the same time as managing a shortage of teachers in some areas and subjects as well as trying to balance school budgets. Whilst appreciating the potential benefits of CPD for their staV, these may be over-ridden by the more pressing demands of test and examination performance targets and tables and/or securing suYcient staV for the school to be able to operate. — The level of personal commitment required to participate in CPD, particularly post-graduate award-bearing courses, in terms of both time and money. Given that teacher workload has continued to increase, despite the National Agreement on Workload, it is likely to be only the most “driven” or ambitious teachers who take up such courses currently. These diYculties would be further exacerbated for teachers with families or other personal responsibilities. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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93. The NUT has developed a number of principles, which are reflected in its own CPD programme and in its wider education polices. These have been used to inform its assessment of current CPD provision for teachers and head teachers. (a) CPD must become an entitlement for all teachers A strategic approach must be taken to embedding CPD in the culture of schools, if it is to be seen as integral to the teaching profession and not as a bolt-on or luxury. In order to maintain the high standards expected by parents and young people, continuing professional development must be part of each teacher’s contractual entitlement. The National Curriculum can only provide a framework for the practical realities of teaching and learning. Teachers’ professionalism is defined by their knowledge, skills, experience, training and professional development. It is through an entitlement to continuing professional development, which is integral to teachers’ work, and not additional to teachers’ workloads, that teachers’ enthusiasm and commitment to teaching can be enhanced. Such an approach will reduce also the still unacceptably high rate of teacher turnover and loss to the profession. The NUT’s proposals in its policy statement Bringing Down the Barriers (2004) focused on all teachers being given a material entitlement to professional development. The nearest the Government has come to defining this entitlement to date is within the 2006 Performance Management Regulations. There are two essential minimum components within the NUT’s proposals. Teachers should receive a minimum funded entitlement annually for personal professional development. They should receive also a one-term sabbatical, every seven years, to conduct their own research into eVective classroom practice. The NUT is committed fundamentally to establishing for teachers an entitlement to CPD. The evidence from the NUT’s CPD Programme and Union Learning Fund (ULF) ICT training programme is that CPD, valued and owned by teachers, enhances professional confidence, morale and learning. If appraisal and performance management are to mean anything, they must deliver CPD as a professional entitlement, not as an imposition.

Currently, lack of time and disruption to pupils’ learning are the most frequent barriers to teachers accessing CPD. In the past, head teachers were advised by the DCSF not to allow staV out of school during the school day for CPD because of the diYculty of securing high quality supply cover. This view does not take into account, however, that some of the most important development can be learning from and with other teachers, which has to take place during the school day. There is strong evidence that teachers wish to have more opportunities to undertake such work—for example, it was the second most popular response of teachers to the question “what would you like to do more of?” in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Teacher Workload survey and scored consistently well as the type of CPD most valued by teachers.

In this context, the NUT would also support the view that increases in teacher workload have had an impact on take-up rates for CPD. Many CPD opportunities, for example award-bearing courses, demand a high level of personal commitment, in terms of both time and money. These diYculties would be further exacerbated for teachers with families or other personal responsibilities, limiting the ability of such teachers to access provision out of school hours. Given the forthcoming national roll out of the Masters in Teaching and Learning, issues relating to time constraints experienced by those undertaking award-bearing courses should be reviewed as a matter of priority. The identiﬁcation of ways of facilitating time for study would be particularly useful for those teachers some way into their career, who are also more likely to have family commitments. Teachers need support to achieve the high standards and successful implementation of the many initiatives imposed on them by Government. Government is reliant on teachers to deliver its education plans—they need high quality training and support to be able to achieve this. Although teachers have been forced to learn in response to imposed change, this has not always been supported by training in the past. A contractual entitlement to CPD would ensure that teachers were better prepared to implement Government policy in the future. The NUT does not agree, however, that there is a need to introduce a contractual obligation for all teachers to take responsibility for their own CPD. There are already three speciﬁc references in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions document, which refer directly to professional development, for example, paragraph 75.5.2 states the requirement for teachers to “participate in arrangements for his further training and professional development as a teacher”. If this were to be introduced as an open-ended statement, it would place obligations on teachers without any reference to suYcient funding or appropriate and accessible training opportunities. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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In addition, such an alteration to teachers’ contracts would undermine their professionalism. In other professions, training and professional development are recognised as part of work. As professionals, teachers want to continue developing their knowledge, skills and understanding— a contractual obligation to do this is not necessary and would lead to much teacher resentment, taken as further evidence of a lack of trust in teachers’ professionalism on the part of government. The OECD12 has identified three broad strategies for integrating professional development throughout teachers’ careers: entitlement-based; incentive-based; and school-based, which would provide a useful starting point for the Committee’s deliberations. The OECD concluded that: “A comprehensive approach to professional development would encompass all three strategies. Providing teachers with agreed levels of time release or financial support for professional development is an explicit recognition of its importance in teachers’ work and a means of enabling participation. However, it is also important for teachers to see the value of taking part in professional development, to understand that it is an important part of their role and to see the “entitlement” to provision as the minimum extent of their participation rather than the maximum.” The NUT would commend the OECD’s view to the Committee. A key means of incentivising take-up of professional development would be, therefore, to improve both access to it and the quality and relevance of the provision on oVer. This would not only make teachers feel valued by their schools and the wider education system, but it would also enable schools to compete with the range of professional development oVered by other comparable employment sectors. (b) Government’s approach to CPD should reflect and be guided by the responses of the teaching profession, individually and collectively Government has, however, in recent years delegated its own responsibilities for CPD to the TDA and has placed considerable emphasis on approaches such as “cascade training”, whereby one member of staV attends a course which is run, typically, by someone following a National Strategies script. The participant is then expected to deliver the same training, often using the same script, to their colleagues at school. Such an approach inevitably leads to a superficial understanding of the professional activity concerned. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that there has been a reduction in both advisory teacher support and professional development oVered to primary teachers in many local authorities, which has combined to limit the overall amount and variety of CPD oVered, such that it is now primarily focused on core subjects, to the detriment of a broad and balanced, integrated primary curriculum. It would be more beneficial, for both individual teachers and for the education system as a whole, if more attention was given to identifying and encouraging the sharing of schools’ good practice in CPD and disseminating this to other schools, such as imaginative ways of organising the school timetable or the participation in networks and partnerships with other schools. This may be done through a variety of means including a new CPD website within TeacherNet, as a way of publicising good practice and encouraging local authorities to include the promotion of good practice in their Education Development Plans. The ability of teachers to establish professional communities has been undermined seriously by the perceptions of many local authorities that they do not have the capacity to foster and sustain networks of professional communities. The development of professional communities has often been left to teacher organisations such as the National Union of Teachers which, through its professional development programme, has demonstrated that it is entirely feasible for a union to oVer a national community of learning to teachers. Indeed, the Union Learning Fund (ULF), administered by the TUC, represents a template for the future funding of learning communities. Through the ULF, the NUT has been able to organise in partnership with local providers basic ICT skills training for all teachers. It was aware from its members that there was a need for such courses, which the Government’s New Opportunities Fund training programme did not address. To date, over 14,500 teachers have participated and the courses have grown in scope to include training on multimedia technology and interactive whiteboards. The success of this programme demonstrates that teachers’ professional associations can have an important part to play in identifying the kinds of training that will have resonance and credibility with teachers, as well as provide support and help to those applying for grants or conducting research. The NUT was proud to be the first teachers’ union to develop a network of NUT learning representatives. In 2002, the NUT’s initiative was acknowledged by a Government Minister as “leading the way for the profession”. In April 2003, in recognition of the project’s success, the NUT received additional support from the Union Learning Fund, enabling the Union to consolidate and

12 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining EVective Teachers, OECD, 2005 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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further develop the Union Learning Representative role. In 2007, the NUT held a successful joint event with the TDA to highlight the role of the ULR and to provide opportunities for them to network with colleagues from local authorities and CPD providers. The role of NUT ULRs is complex and challenging—promoting learning among teachers. NUT Union Learning Representatives provide a crucial service, giving teachers access to the full range of opportunities available for their professional development, especially supply teachers, who have often been failed by school-based training. Our experience is similar to other trade unions—it is often easier for teachers to approach an NUT Union Learning Representative in confidence about their learning needs, in a “no threat, no blame” context. NUT Union Learning Representatives have been involved in a wide range of activities from promoting the NUT’s training and continuing professional development opportunities, to surveying teachers’ learning needs, meeting with individuals and helping them access funding for their learning and professional development. NUT ULRs are touching teachers’ lives and work and acting as agents of change and support. Increasingly teachers are seeing their union as the place to turn to, not just on pay and health and safety but also on training and professional development. The Government should capitalise on this by involving ULRs in a two way process of developing and supporting national CPD strategy direction. (c) Research and evaluation of provision and its impact on teaching and learning are essential to provide evidence of what works in CPD and to ensure a beneficial impact on teachers’ skills and pupils’ learning This has not always been a strength of current Government policy and was one of the reasons why the NUT has supported a number of Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI) research reviews, including on the impact of CPD on teaching and learning, collaborative CPD and the role of specialists in CPD. By drawing on the EPPI findings and on other national and international research and through independent evaluation, the NUT has led the way in the development and promotion of peer coaching and mentoring as a professional development tool, which empowers both parties involved. Its approaches have been adopted by the National Strategies and TDA, for example and have shaped the wide-spread usage of coaching and mentoring in schools across England and Wales. All the evidence is that coaching and mentoring can only be eVective if carried out in an atmosphere of trust, not in a climate in which the results of coaching and mentoring have high stakes implications for those who are coached or mentored. The NUT has recently launched support materials designed specifically for teachers subject to coaching and mentoring, in order to enable them to derive maximum benefit from feedback and to engage in constructive, professionally assertive dialogue with their coach/mentor. Government must work with the profession to develop provision, assess its impact and to build a case for future development. Although some notable proposals for development have been made, such as the Masters level qualification in teaching and learning, too many successful national CPD programmes have been discontinued purely on cost grounds. These are discussed in the next section of this submission. As indicated earlier, the NUT has given a qualified welcome to the introduction of a new Masters level qualification in teaching and learning (MTL) for teachers, which was first announced in the DCSF Children’s Plan, based on its own experiences as a provider of award-bearing CPD. The NUT supported the development by the GTC(E) of the Teacher Learning Academy for accreditation, which provides an umbrella for particular accreditation arrangements between HEIs and providers. The NUT itself has established accreditation arrangements with the University of London’s Institute of Education for credits leading to a Masters award for its innovative TEACHER2TEACHER programme. It has also established a professional learning partnership with the University of Cumbria to oVer Masters level transferable accreditation to participants in Cumbria and Tower Hamlets. In addition, it has developed similar arrangements for its ICT programme through the SWIFT consortium based at the University of Exeter. The NUT is concerned, however, by the requirement that teachers must undertake the new Masters qualification in teaching and learning within the first five years of their career. It believes that, whilst a teaching profession qualified to Masters level is desirable, the means to achieve this should be developed in partnership with teachers as equals rather than enforced on staV for them to accept passively. All teachers should be able to access the new qualification if they wish, supported by the necessary time, space and funding required or this level of academic study. The work done by the NUT and GTC(E) illustrates that flexible approaches such as the accreditation of prior learning and experience and the arrangement whereby teachers are able to work towards post-graduate awards at a variety of levels whilst following the same basic course, Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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according to their particular circumstances, are eVective. It believes it is essential that all providers are encouraged to use these types of approaches if Masters’ participation and completion rates are to increase when the new programme rolls out nationally. Such an approach would also go some way to addressing the most common reasons for non- completion of post-graduate award-bearing courses currently, pressure of work and the perception that the professional development activity is more important than certification. There must be a greater emphasis on the accumulation of credits towards the new MTL award. There is a deficit in the evidence available on take-up and availability of post-graduate award bearing professional development currently. The NUT would suggest that measures need to be put in place to gather systematically information on enrolment and related issues, which would inform the future development of the MTL programme, including the identification of the kinds and levels of courses experiencing recruitment diYculties or which are fully or over-subscribed. (d) Teachers must have ownership of the CPD, with a wide range available to meet individual needs A key issue for teachers at all stages of their career is if that provision is responsive to individual need. The NUT is concerned that in recent years CPD provision has been linked to Government initiatives too closely,particularly in relation to the National Strategies, as such an approach would not always provide teachers with the professional development they had identified for themselves and could quickly become out-dated and irrelevant as initiatives evolved or came to an end. A DCSF report13 found that: “Teachers of the arts and more generally teachers of foundation subjects take the view that the sustained emphasis on literacy, numeracy and management has in eVect cut them oV from award- bearing courses.” (paragraph 63) This clearly shows that the current “priorities” list for CPD limits the number of teachers who believe such professional development would be relevant to them. There is much that could be done at national level, in particular, revision of the national CPD “priorities” list to encompass a wider range of subject knowledge and pedagogy, which would stimulate both volume and diversity of provision and allow currently unmet demand to be fulfilled. The trend, however, has been for centrally-driven and prescribed provision. CPD determined by teachers’ individual needs is currently dependent, to a large degree, on the culture and circumstances of the school they happen to be working in. It would be important for government to work with the school leadership organisations to find ways to promoting teachers’ involvement in school-level decision making concerning CPD priorities, as some head teachers and governing bodies do not fully understand the benefits of individuals’ CPD or may have inequitable approaches to its allocation. Teachers’ prime concerns and motivation for participating in CPD are improving their subject knowledge and pedagogical skills. They believe, and there is growing evidence to support, that the greatest impact on changing teachers’ practice comes from learning from and with other teachers, on their own and in other schools, through observation, collaborative work and peer coaching and mentoring schemes. In addition, training needs to be focused on specific skill areas, with high quality materials and direct support, so that learning can be applied to the classroom situation. Teachers have to believe that it will be of benefit to their pupils, given opportunities to test out theories and reflect on the lessons to be learnt for their own practice. The NUT’s own programme has illustrated that it is possible to put the classroom experiences and priorities of individual teachers at the heart of CPD, to enhance professionalism by creating opportunities provided by teachers for teachers, making use of the latest research and evidence about eVective CPD and teaching and learning. (e) Any strategy on CPD must be aimed at all levels of involvement—individual teachers, head teachers and local authorities as well as central government There are many layers to CPD, some of which will be the product of government legislation such as the new Education and Skills Act. The school as an institution will have professional development priorities and, fundamentally, professional development identified, chosen and owned by teachers themselves is the key to high morale, motivation and confidence among teachers. The Government’s CPD strategy, launched in 2001, was a limited success, but a success nonetheless. The Best Practice Research Scholarships, Early Professional Development Pilot, teacher bursaries and sabbaticals, represented a genuine opportunity for many teachers to continue their learning and research in depth. The 2001 Strategy represented, at long last, a hint of the original 1971 James Report’s intention that, throughout their careers, teachers should have the time, space and funding to reflect, research and develop their practice. The NUT believes that James’ original vision and commitment can still be learnt from and should still be a cornerstone of CPD policy.

13 DfES, Review Of The Award-Bearing Inset Scheme, 2003. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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The GTC(E) has argued consistently that professional development is both an entitlement and responsibility for all teachers. It has called on government to provide adequate funding for all forms of CPD, as a means of improving both school and pupil performance. “investment in teachers’ professional development is an important investment in education.”14 The NUT supports this view and would urge the Committee to adopt it in its final recommendations. The NUT believes that the balance between national, local and individual CPD priorities could be addressed through imaginative partnerships between schools, local authorities and HEI or other CPD providers, including teachers’ professional associations. The position of local authorities in teachers’ CPD has declined in recent years, as authorities have moved from a “provider” to a “commissioner” role, even though they have an important part to play in terms of the co-ordination of provision between schools and ensuring parity of opportunity and access for teachers. Serious consideration of how local authorities’ commitment to teachers’ CPD and their capacity to deliver this could be strengthened is required, if all aspects of national CPD provision are to be improved. (f) CPD must be high quality in order to be useful At the moment the market is very complex and fragmented. Schools receive lots of approaches from suppliers but it can be hard to make judgements about the quality of provision. The recently developed pilot National CPD Database organised by the TDA is a welcome step towards enabling schools and individuals to make informed choices, as all providers featured on the database must sign up to a Code Of Practice. This has been developed by the TDA to provide a set of minimum requirements for high-quality CPD and builds upon the previous DCSF guidance document Good Value CPD, so that schools know what to expect from providers and how to secure it. The NUT would recommend that the Committee seeks information from the TDA about the independent evaluation which is being undertaken on the pilot database, in particular whether it is fulfilling its role in ensuring that teachers receive accurate information about what is provided and what is expected of participants as well as whether it has helped to stimulate more consistent high quality provision. Much existing CPD provision consists of on-oV events or short courses, of variable quality and relevance. Whilst these can have their place for specific topics or problem areas, they are unlikely to lead to the internalisation of new skills or approaches, which are vital if they are to become embedded in teachers’ day-to-day practice. The value of sustained approaches to CPD are discussed later in this submission. It is equally important that CPD courses should not focus solely on skills-based training. Evidence shows that teachers are particularly interested in and value professional development which is focused on practice, with a theoretical foundation, which gives a strong indication of the kinds of CPD activities which are sought by teachers and would indicate the limitations of a skills-audit approach to the identification of teachers’ needs. (g) CPD can empower teachers and boost confidence, leading to better quality teaching CPD recently has been dominated by top-down prescriptive training in response to Government initiatives. Teachers have been frequently told what is best for them and how they ought to do their job—this has demoralised many teachers and diminished their sense of professional judgement and control over their professional lives. That is why the NUT’s non-threatening and non-judgemental CPD programmes have been so well received by teachers and have made a real diVerence to their teaching and learning. Teachers need to have power and autonomy over the direction of their work and this now needs to be recognised and underpinned by changes in the attitudes of policy makers to CPD. The enormous learning potential available to teachers through teacher exchanges, sabbaticals and scholarships, both at home and abroad, has barely been tapped. The Commonwealth Teacher Recruitment Protocol, for example, should be factored into a revised national professional development strategy. Engagement in international development benefits teachers themselves. Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) report, for example, that teacher volunteers return with their enthusiasm and motivation enhanced. A national professional development strategy should have at its core a range of opportunities for teachers to work in developing countries and projects which encourage knowledge, research and skills exchanges between schools in developed and developing countries. (h) Learning and development does not stop once a teacher is qualified

14 General Teaching Council for England, The Teachers’ Professional Learning Framework, GTC(E), 2003 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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Teachers have to work at becoming and remaining a good teacher and therefore need to keep up- to-date with the latest developments in teaching and, increasingly, ICT. As such, teachers have an important part to play in the Government’s lifelong learning strategy,as it is more likely that pupils will be encouraged to undertake lifelong learning if their teachers are also involved in it. There is a growing expectation that teachers will reflect on their practice, absorb new research findings and participate in training and development courses. In this sense, receiving qualified teacher status no longer represents a career-long licence to practice within the profession. It is a licence that needs to be revalidated by continuous learning throughout each teacher’s career. The resources to enable teachers to achieve this, however, have yet to be put in place: “Nearly all of the teachers interviewed during this research expressed frustration at the limited opportunities they had to reflect on and develop their own practice, which they saw as a result of excessive workload. There was also dissatisfaction with an increasingly centralised, standardised system of training and guidance”.15 Although the Government has repeatedly stated that it sees professional development as having a higher profile and priority in its new reshaped framework for teacher appraisal and rewards and that it is essential for continuing the momentum towards higher standards and a “world class” education system, many of the eVorts to provide opportunities for professional development are being experienced by teachers as extra burdens or demands because of the nature of their existing work routines. The experience of being a CPD provider has strengthened the NUT’s awareness that if teachers’ professional learning is recognised by teachers as being relevant to their classroom and teaching needs, it has more likelihood of enhancing their practice. This likelihood is increased if their professional learning includes opportunities to engage in critical discussion with other teachers and “experts”; allows them to try out diVerent strategies in their classrooms (within a “culture” which does not regard trying new approaches as a sign of not knowing one’s job); and then having an opportunity to reflect, review and refine strategies. Where this process can further be supported by a trusted coach, trained in the necessary skills of collaborative coaching, the impact can be further enhanced. This description of eVective professional development processes matches well with the evidence which has recently culminated from research about eVective CPD.16 Teachers learn very eVectively from other teachers. As part of many of the NUT’s CPD programmes, participants have a “follow-up” opportunity during which they share short presentations about an aspect of what they have tried out in their classrooms. Because these trials have taken place in real classrooms with real pupils/students, what they describe as having “worked” has high credibility to other teachers. By the same token, the feedback which teachers receive following their presentations can be very significant too because the “commentators” have the credibility of doing the same job in similar circumstances. Face-to-face opportunities for peer review and consultation are a very valuable element of CPD. Online discussion can also make an eVective contribution to professional learning. 94. The NUT’s CPD programme also encourages participants in its CPD Programme to become tutors. This consolidates their own learning and provides a “credible” input to other participants. For example, participants in the “Getting Behaviour Right” seminars—for teachers in their first year of teaching (NQTs)—are invited to become associate tutors in the “Start Right” seminars which are for teachers just qualifying and take place later in the same school year. The teachers just qualifying and about to take full responsibility for a class for the first time are very engaged by teachers/tutors who are just finishing their first “induction” year. 95. Similarly, teachers who have participated in the Union’s TEACHER2TEACHER CPD courses, where they have been introduced to and tried out peer coaching, are invited subsequently to act as co-tutors and lead the introduction of peer coaching to other teachers. 96. Such “tutoring” opportunities provide a very eVective way of encouraging teachers to reflect upon their own learning and experience and articulate it for other teachers to learn from. 97. There are a number of successful models for professional learning which emphasise those aspects of CPD which are associated with greater impact on practice in the classroom/school. Some of these are briefly described below. (i) Peer Coaching: Participating teachers, usually in pairs, observe each other teaching and then give feedback. The vital element of this is that both participating teachers act as coach and coachee. It is most eVective where the coachee identifies what aspects of his or her practice should be the focus of the observation. The skill of the coach in oVering feedback, after observing this agreed aspect of practice, is to draw out from the coachee what he/she thought were the areas of improvement which need to be addressed. Together, coach and coachee then identify strategies for doing this. This process encourages a high level of engagement and readiness to learn in the coachee and

15 Horne M, Classroom Assistance: Why Teachers Must Transform Teaching, Demos, 2001. 16 Timperley et al, Teacher professional learning and development: Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration, 2007. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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provides the basis for an ongoing professional conversation. It is most eVective when both participants experience being both coach and learner. The NUT’s CPD programme, drawing on the experiences of teachers trying out peer coaching, provides an “A to Z of Peer Coaching” which is widely available and used in the profession. An interesting outcome of peer coaching is that participants say that they learn just as much if not more by taking on the role of coach as they do when being coached. (ii) Best Practice Research Scholarships (BPRS): This very successful model of professional learning attracted Government funding and provided an opportunity for teachers to investigate an aspect of teaching and learning of their choice, analyse and reflect on that and produce a BPRS report. The crucial elements of this project were that teachers themselves identified the focus for their investigations and, under the BPRS scheme, were awarded funding to carry it out. NUT CPD programme extended this excellent opportunity by combining a group of BPRS teachers to allow them to have an “expert” input about good practice in carrying out a classroom-based investigation and then a subsequent opportunity to review their investigation with peers in addition to producing individual BPRS reports. (iii) Learning Circles: In partnership with the University of Cambridge, School of Education, NUT’s CPD Programme has developed a Learning Circle approach to professional learning. A group of teachers from a local area meet with a University of Cambridge tutor and learn about good practice in carrying out a school/classroom focus investigation into an aspect of teaching and learning of their choice. Over the following term or so, participants then carry out their chosen investigation and collect a portfolio of evidence as well as their thoughts and reflections generated by that. At intervals throughout their investigations, there are opportunities for participating teachers to meet with the lead tutor and each other. They are also supported by an online opportunity to continue a professional discussion involving the tutors. Their portfolios are submitted to the University of Cambridge for post-graduate accreditation. (iv) Study Groups: In partnership with the University of Cumbria, NUT’s CPD Programme has developed a collaborative approach to professional learning which enables participating teachers to complete a module worth 20 credits towards an MA in Education. Interested teachers within Cumbria join a study group of around 10 local teachers. The study group meets in a local school on four or five occasions over one term with a tutor from the University of Cumbria. This 12 and a half hours of tutoring focusing on “systematic enquiry” is coupled with a similar number of hours carrying out a small scale enquiry in their own teaching situation. Participants are required to write a reflective account of their school-based enquiry and then submit it to the University for M-level accreditation. 98. Each of the above models incorporates many of the features described previously and associated with eVective CPD which has a positive and lasting impact on teachers’ practice. Each provides a collaborative and sustained learning opportunity, combined with expert input. They all allow participating teachers to ensure that their learning is relevant to them because they choose the context or focus to which they apply it. The aim underpinning each approach is to maximise the personalisation and control over professional learning by participating teachers. The objective is to empower teachers and in doing so maximise their learning and the impact it has on their pupils/students. 99. The introduction of accreditation to such learning opportunities adds a welcome element of rigour and professional recognition to individual participant’s learning. In addition to the approaches to accreditation described above, NUT’s CPD Programme values highly the General Teaching Council (England)’s Teacher Learning Academy. Many of the Union’s CPD Programmes lead to participants obtaining TLA professional recognition (Stage 1) and the option to go on to further stages. 100. The partnership projects with the University of Cambridge and the University of Cumbria are ideal models for the development of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). If such an approach to the MTL is adopted it would create a positive framework for providing relevant, collaborative and sustained, learning opportunities which combine expert input with classroom-based investigation and enquiry supported by peer coaching. Such a model would ensure that, over time, the introduction of the MTL has a positive impact on pupils and students.

School Leaders 101. The National College of School Leadership (NCSL) oVers a range of CPD programmes for aspiring and serving school leaders, including: — the National Professional Qualiﬁcation for Headship (mandatory for all new head teachers); — Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers; — Leading from the Middle for groups of two to four middle leaders plus one leadership coach (school based); — Future Leaders—Developing leaders for challenging urban schools; Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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— Equal Access to Promotion—programme targeted at black and minority ethnic teachers in middle management, to encourage more teachers from under-represented groups to aspire to and take on leadership roles within schools (joint programme with the NUT).

102. The NUT had reservations about the proposals to make NPQH a compulsory requirement, as it believes that a qualiﬁcation alone will not necessarily guarantee high quality entrants to headship, but could be a disincentive for potential applicants. It would have expected the NPQH course to now be of such a high standard and to have gained such a positive reputation that the vast majority of aspiring head teachers would wish to participate, without the necessity of making the qualiﬁcation mandatory for new head teachers.

103. Since the NPQH was introduced in 1997, a significant proportion of those who gained the qualification did not go on to headship. In many cases, this was because the NPQH represented the best CPD available to them. The revised NPQH programme focuses specifically on preparing participants for their first head teacher post, by providing practical opportunities to take on aspects of the role. Whilst this is a welcome development, the CPD needs of those experienced teachers who do not aspire to headship must also continue to be met.

104. The NUT has expressed consistently a view that school leaders should, primarily, focus their energy and activity on being the lead professional/senior practitioner. Although the implementation of this role will be inﬂuenced by factors such as school size, the top priority for school leaders’ CPD should be the improvement of teaching and learning and the development of staV. Such a view is endorsed by leading experts in the ﬁeld of school improvement and leadership, for example:

“It requires more or less continuous investment in knowledge and skill, both because the knowledge base around instructional practice is constantly changing and because the population of actual and potential leaders is constantly depleting and replenishing itself. In this view, leadership is a knowledge based discipline”.17

105. The NUT believes that the skills, understandings, knowledge and attitudes needed to fulﬁl such a role should be given priority in the education, training and professional development programmes available for school leadership.

106. It is important that professional development opportunities for school leaders should encourage participants to pursue topics which have direct relevance to them. The over-arching principle of such provision, as for all professional development activities, should be that it is based on and is responsive to the needs of individuals, with enough ﬂexibility to ensure that it is relevant and useful to school leaders of all phases and types of schools.

107. Core activities should address explicitly school leaders’ own priorities, such as inter-personal and communication skills, curriculum leadership and the involvement of staV in decision making. These are also the areas of deﬁciency identiﬁed by teachers in existing school leaders who are not well regarded by their staV. Priority should be given to the skills, understandings and attitudes which are needed for school leadership and there should not be undue attention to “administrative” aspects of their work. Above all, professional development and training for school leaders must focus on those aspects of leadership which are valued, rather than on those which are easily measured.

108. “People skills” associated with establishing professional relationships, meaningful consultation, eVective communication, negotiating skills, delegation, motivating adults and inclusive decision making should be at the heart of all leadership programmes. It is most commonly the absence of such skills which teachers and other members of school communities highlight when they are asked why a certain person proved to be a poor manager or ineVective leader.

109. It is important that training programmes for school leaders are perceived as independent and do not become seen as a means simply to train school leaders to implement national initiatives. Some criticism has been levelled at the National College for School Leadership’s programmes on these grounds, as some participants have perceived them as promoting a single model of leadership and management which is aligned to Government policy. The education service needs critical, questioning, reﬂective leaders who have a sound philosophical and intellectual framework within which to operate.

110. The NUT believes that eVective leadership is dependent on an ability to examine and evaluate all of the information available on the current operation of a school. Decisions need to be based on knowledge and experience which encompasses every section of the school community, including an understanding of the impact of external inﬂuences on the organisation. A school leader who combines sound education and political judgements would be able to read and evaluate accurately developments in the policies of the government and its national agencies, the local authority and teacher, parent and governor organisations.

17 Elmore, R F, Leadership as the Practice of Improvement, OECD International Conference on Perspectives on Leadership for Systematic Improvement, London, 6 July 2006. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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NUT Recommendations — Each teacher should receive a material entitlement to continuing professional development. This entitlement should be made available in two forms; through guaranteed time available during the timetabled teaching day and through securing an individual funding entitlement at current rates for all teachers and head teachers. — The Government should relaunch an eVective national strategy for continuing professional development for teachers. All teacher organisations in England, alongside the General Teaching Council (England), should be asked to establish a set of proposals, the purpose of which would be to secure guaranteed and continuous professional development for teachers. The strategies would take into account the need to encourage teachers to conduct their own research on what works in teaching. Particular attention in the national strategy should be paid to the needs of supply teachers, those centrally employed and returnees to the profession. — Any future strategy must focus on developing peer coaching and the ability of teachers with specific skills to train others. Guaranteed time during the school day should be introduced in order to enable teachers to share their practice with teachers in other schools. — Teachers should have consistent access to updating on developments in their disciplines and subject areas, including professional development in the use of Information and Communications Technology. — The role of Higher Education should be evaluated in terms of providing mentoring for those teachers who undertake research. Specific financial incentives should be given to Teacher Training partnerships and School Centred Initial Teacher Training Consortia in order to develop teams of trained research mentors whose responsibility would be to provide skilled and practical guidance to teacher researchers. — A national professional development strategy should provide a range of opportunities for teachers to work in developing countries and in projects which encourage knowledge, research and skills exchanges between schools and developing countries. — The professional development and international research capacity at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and at the Training and Development Agency (TDA) should be strengthened and integrated with the work of the Department for International Development (DfID). — In the context of the agreement reached recently by Commonwealth countries on a teacher recruitment protocol, government should make available through Voluntary Service Overseas and the British Council a range of opportunities for experienced teachers to work in developing countries for a year. The scholarship programme would include the allocation of scholarships for professional development overseas with the number of such scholarships determined by the number of schools in each local authority area. The criteria for the award of these scholarships would be based on the potential for CPD links to be developed between schools in England and schools in developing countries. — Expansion of the Union Learning Fund should provide not just the delivery of adult basic skills such as basic ICT literacy but professional development programmes including leading edge developments in teaching. Local authorities should be encouraged by the Government to establish CPD advisory committees including teacher organisations, Union Learning Representatives and schools to co-ordinate and publicise the supply of professional development. — Every head teacher should be entitled to a sabbatical once every seven years — Appropriate CPD opportunities should be developed by NCSL for those senior teachers who do not aspire to headship.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 111. The tracking of CPD’s impact on standards is a central feature of national policy currently.The NUT believes, however, that there are signiﬁcant practical problems associated with demonstrating subsequent improvements in pupil attainment as a result of CPD activities. Within the timescale of a CPD course, even an award-bearing course, it would be unrealistic to expect participants to produce robust, measurable evidence of improved standards. This principle therefore needs to be interpreted with reasonable latitude. 112. Inevitably, it is diYcult to establish direct links between a particular CPD input and a measurable improvement in pupils’/students’ outcomes. Establishing a parallel “control” situation is almost always impossible. It is the cumulative eVects of high quality professional learning within a culture which encourages continual improvement and development that has a positive impact over time on students’ outcomes. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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113. As the previously cited Director of CUREE, Philippa Cordingley, recently identified from research features of CPD which can make an impact more likely. These included: — “specialist contributions to structure CPD and root if in evidence; — peer support to embed specialist contributions in every day contexts, encourage experiments beyond the comfort zone, and enable teachers to interpret and refine programme goals in their own context; — activities to structure dialogue that makes practice and beliefs explicit and so enables review and reflection; and — activities to help teachers build on their own starting points.” (Sauce for the Goose, CUREE 2008) 114. The link between CPD and students’ outcomes is fundamentally dependant on the teacher who has been involved in the original learning. The strength of this link is influenced by the teacher’s own self- evaluation of the degree to which the learning focus has met their own aspirations for themselves and their students’ learning. If the match is strong, they will feel more confident, empowered and in control of the strategies and new understandings that they have gained. Common sense suggests that if these key ingredients of eVective teaching are significantly enhanced, then their use of the skills, knowledge and new experience they have gained will be passed on more eVectively when they seek to apply it to their own pupils. So, the perceptions and evaluations of teachers themselves are a very important component of assessing the impact of Continuing Professional Development. 115. In addition, in order for the eVect of professional development on pupil attainment to be demonstrated, schools need continuity of both staYng and pupil intake. If CPD’s impact is only assessed by reference to this narrow measure of success, this is more likely to disadvantage those teachers who are most in need of professional development opportunities, in particular, teachers working in schools in challenging circumstances. Given the practical benefits of CPD to schools, it is important that national policy should not be diverted by a requirement that all CPD courses should provide measurable outcomes in terms of pupil performance, in order that all teachers, regardless of the school in which they work, should have access to such professional development opportunities. 116. The NUT is concerned about the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) and Secretary of State’s commitment to the idea that the impact or outcomes of CPD should be taken into account for pay purposes. The NUT has made clear its opposition to mechanistic links being made between performance management, professional development and pay progression. The NUT’s opposition to this mechanistic link is based on its own experience of what works in good CPD. The term “outcomes” implies measurement, yet it is hard, if not impossible, to measure, to use the Secretary of State’s own criterion, the amount of “incentivisation” that teachers receive from eVective CPD. It may be, for example, that the eVect of a particular programme is one where a teacher’s confidence or commitment to remaining in the profession is enhanced. 117. While CPD should certainly be about enhancing teaching and learning, the term “outcomes-based approach” should be dropped. Any evaluation of CPD should be on the basis of how much teachers themselves believe their CPD has contributed to teaching, learning and their professionalism. 118. There is strong evidence that high quality CPD is beneficial to schools and to individual teachers in a variety of ways, many of which are extremely important but diYcult to quantify, such as improved teacher motivation, confidence and retention to the profession. The eVect on teachers should therefore be the focus of any evaluation mechanisms, as this will led to improved teaching. 119. The “reinvigorating” eVect of award-bearing CPD on mid-career teachers could present a useful strand in a national strategy to retain more experienced teachers in the profession. As all types of teacher motivation are ultimately beneficial to the education system, it is essential that all are valued equally by the DCSF and that strategies aimed at boosting participation in CPD, whether award-bearing or otherwise, are targeted at diVerent groups of teachers. 120. The NUT believes there is particular value in teachers from the same school attending professional development programmes. The “multiplier eVect” is found in much of the literature on school improvement, where the establishment of a “critical mass” of teachers engaged in targeted professional development activities has been linked to the success of both dissemination and ownership of school improvement eVorts throughout the school community. For this reason, it is important that a long-term view of the impact of CPD is supported by the Committee, as the shifts in school culture required to embed and sustain changed practices need considerable periods of time if they are not to be merely superficial. 121. Although CPD, particularly award-bearing courses, can aid teachers’ career progression, the NUT would caution that impact should not be measured by participants’ achievement of accredited qualifications, such as credits towards the new MTL. A wider view of its benefits to teachers should be taken, as a significant number of teachers participating in such activities wish primarily to improve their classroom practice or to boost their motivation by engaging in challenging intellectual activity. For these teachers, the acquisition of a formal qualification may be seen as a secondary consideration. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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122. The current arrangements for tracking spending on CPD are far from clear, as there are no longer centrally-funded dedicated school budgets for CPD. A significant number of professional development activities have been aVected by changes to funding mechanisms, such as the removal of ring-fencing at school level and little growth in the funding available to support central CPD initiatives. These include: — the Professional Bursaries initiative, which was incorporated into the proposed early Professional Development programme in 2004, which in turn was discontinued in 2005; — grant funding for the Best Practice Research Scholarships and Sabbaticals programmes ended in 2004; and — the School Improvement Grant, which was used to fund many professional development activities and the induction of newly qualified teachers, ceased to be funded through the Standards Fund in 2003. 123. This is in stark contrast to current funding arrangements for CPD in Wales, which is administered on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government by the GTC(W)18 and includes: — Professional Development Bursary—up to £650 to be spent on a professional development activity of the teacher’s choice, including visits within and outside the UK to observe good practice and exchange ideas. In the case of visits outside Europe only, funding of up to £1,000 is available. — Action Research Scholarship—up to £2,500 to undertake action research on an area relevant to the individual’s or school’s development. — Teacher Sabbatical—up to £5,250 to enable a teacher to undertake a prolonged period of study or develop transferable skills in a diVerent environment. — Professional Development Network—up to £7,800 to enable a group of teachers to work together on a regular basis. — Group Bursary—up to £3,900 to enable a group of teachers from within the same school to work together on a regular basis. 124. It was the Government’s intention that in England “the flexibility available within the Standards Fund should enable schools to meet the key priorities for professional development”.19 Time has shown that this is not an adequate approach. Not only is the emphasis on the Government’s “key priorities”, rather than schools’ and teachers’ own priorities, but few schools have suYcient “flexibility” in funding CPD activities. Schools in England are therefore often reluctant to contribute to individual learning opportunities for teachers and are unlikely to provide direct help with fees or to allow study leave. 125. As a result of the Government’s short-sighted discontinuation of the Best Practice Research Scholarships, the NUT has invested in its own scholarship programmes for members, including on thinking skills. Each scholarship includes £2,000 in funding and direct support through seminars and electronic academic support worth a further £1,000. 126. Hidden costs associated with CPD, in particular cover costs and fees paid by teachers personally, would also need to be factored in to any calculation of overall spend on CPD. There has always been some expectation that teachers would make financial contributions towards their own CPD costs, particularly for award-bearing courses or those taking place out of school hours, such as at weekends and during school holidays. The NUT believes, however, that teachers’ commitment to learning, their willingness to reflect on practice, their readiness to share with colleagues and the translation of their learning into improved teaching and learning should be the contributions expected by government, as this benefits pupils, schools, the education service and wider society. It is essential, therefore, that central government and employers fund CPD properly. 127. The NUT agreed strongly with the recommendation included in the STRB’s special review of approaches to reducing teacher workload (paragraph 91), that funding should be made available to schools so that teachers were no longer required to pay to attend courses themselves and to pay for any associated cover costs. The NUT believes that any such funding should be ring-fenced, to ensure that it would be used for the purpose for which it was intended. 128. The lack of specific funding for leadership training can be extremely problematic and divisive in some schools, with conflicting priorities and a finite level of funding limiting access to provision for some potential participants, particularly in smaller schools. In order that school leaders are not put in the invidious position of choosing between their own and colleagues’ professional development needs, for example, it is vital that dedicated funding for leadership programmes is provided. 129. There is also a need for funding for CPD to be stable, so that providers, local authorities and schools can plan for the future and invest in the necessary staV and other resources needed for high quality provision.

18 Welsh Assembly Government/General Teaching Council for Wales, CPD Funding Programme: Information Booklet 2008–11, WAG, 2007. 19 DfES, The Standards Fund 2003–04, DfES Circular LEA/0473/2002, 2002. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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NUT Recommendations — Government funded CPD opportunities such as the Best Practice Research Scholarships and Sabbatical programmes should be re-instated and expanded. — Outcomes based approaches to assessing the impact of CPD should be replaced by evaluation mechanisms which focus on the eVect of CPD on teachers’ professional practice and attitudes.

Conclusion 130. Any national strategy for teachers’ CPD must be matched by action and by funding, as teachers will judge it by its implementation. In particular, it must be a true entitlement, which meets the needs that they have identiﬁed for themselves and enables a high degree of ownership of it. If it is regarded as a burden, it will lead to teacher resentment and will not contribute to raising standards in schools. It is vital that teachers have a real choice in the nature of any training, where and when it takes place. It is equally vital that the Government create the conditions where teachers can be reﬂective and see learning, developing and improving as integral parts of their job. January 2009

Annex Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; and Recommendations — The Framework of Professional Standards should not be subject to frequent change, in order to facilitate its use by the profession. — Teachers’ organisations and the General Teaching Council for England should establish a collective bank of teaching practice (a pedagogic bank) from which they can draw. Funding support should be provided by government. — Further research should be commissioned on eVective pedagogy, which takes in to account the impact of school context and the extent to which teachers may exercise pedagogic autonomy.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. Recommendations — Professional development should not be linked, via the Professional Standards or other mechanisms, to teachers’ pay. — The limitations of the Ofsted “snapshot” approach to assessing teaching quality should be acknowledged and more emphasis given in school accountability mechanisms to schools’ self evaluation.

Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT Recommendations — Consideration should be given to standardising the ITT selection process, including candidates spending a period of time in schools prior to their interview by ITT providers. — The academic requirements or ITT should be reviewed, including exploring the potential to incorporate the QTS Skills Tests into the entry requirements.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level Recommendation — The Government should conduct an independent review of the management of ITT place allocation. Such a review would take into account the desirability of long-term planning for ITT providers; national and regional projected teacher vacancy rates; and the need to balance quality with quantity of candidates, particularly for secondary shortage subjects. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers Recommendations — While there is merit in the MTL being integrated into initial teacher training courses, induction and teachers’ continuing professional development, it should not provide the only route to a Masters nor should it be imposed. Initial teacher training should be integrated within a national professional development strategy for teachers. The MTL must be properly funded and the facility provided to teachers taking Masters for sabbatical time in order to complete written assignments and engage in tutorials. In short, the MTL should be properly funded, be genuinely voluntary for teachers, and be available as an option to all teachers. — The Government should explore whether Post Graduate Certificate of Education and employment-based ITT courses should become two year programmes. Such a proposal is dependent on all Initial Teacher Training (ITT) students receiving suYcient grant aid, including support for tuition fees. — All schools where there are students involved in teacher training should have mentors with specific posts of responsibility. — Variation in the type, quality and organisation of training and support experienced by employment-based ITT trainees should be investigated as a matter of urgency. — B.Ed and PGCE trainees should have access to the same level of financial incentives and support.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession; and Recommendations — Further research evidence should be commissioned on the factors which contribute to the withdrawal of minority ethnic trainees from ITT courses. — The administrative and initial assessment processes for overseas trained teachers seeking to gain QTS should be reviewed. — Costs incurred by trainees as part of ITT school placements should be met centrally.

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings Recommendations — ITT should aim to equip newly qualiﬁed teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary in order to exercise professional judgement rather than focus overly on “delivery” of the National Strategies. — The QTS Standards should give more emphasis to aspects of primary teachers’ day-to-day pastoral work and child development. — Child-development studies should be at the centre of initial teacher training and teachers’ continuing professional development. — Secondary ITT should provide more opportunities for those wishing to teach vocational subjects.

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent; and Recommendations — Each teacher should receive a material entitlement to continuing professional development. This entitlement should be made available in two forms; through guaranteed time available during the timetabled teaching day and through securing an individual funding entitlement at current rates for all teachers and head teachers. — The Government should relaunch an eVective national strategy for continuing professional development for teachers. All teacher organisations in England, alongside the General Teaching Council (England), should be asked to establish a set of proposals, the purpose of which would be to secure guaranteed and continuous professional development for teachers. The strategies would take into account the need to encourage teachers to conduct their own research on what works in teaching. Particular attention in the national strategy should be paid to the needs of supply teachers, those centrally employed and returnees to the profession. — Any future strategy must focus on developing peer coaching and the ability of teachers with speciﬁc skills to train others. Guaranteed time during the school day should be introduced in order to enable teachers to share their practice with teachers in other schools. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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— Teachers should have consistent access to updating on developments in their disciplines and subject areas, including professional development in the use of Information and Communications Technology. — The role of Higher Education should be evaluated in terms of providing mentoring for those teachers who undertake research. Speciﬁc ﬁnancial incentives should be given to Teacher Training partnerships and School Centred Initial Teacher Training Consortia in order to develop teams of trained research mentors whose responsibility would be to provide skilled and practical guidance to teacher researchers. — A national professional development strategy should provide a range of opportunities for teachers to work in developing countries and in projects which encourage knowledge, research and skills exchanges between schools and developing countries. — The professional development and international research capacity at the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and at the Training and Development Agency (TDA) should be strengthened and integrated with the work of the Department for International Development (DfID). — In the context of the agreement reached recently by Commonwealth countries on a teacher recruitment protocol, Government should make available through VoluntaryService Overseas and the British Council a range of opportunities for experienced teachers to work in developing countries for a year. The scholarship programme would include the allocation of scholarships for professional development overseas with the number of such scholarships determined by the number of schools in each local authority area. The criteria for the award of these scholarships would be based on the potential for CPD links to be developed between schools in England and schools in developing countries. — Expansion of the Union Learning Fund should provide not just the delivery of adult basic skills such as basic ICT literacy but professional development programmes including leading edge developments in teaching. Local authorities should be encouraged by the Government to establish CPD advisory committees including teacher organisations, Union Learning Representatives and schools to co-ordinate and publicise the supply of professional development. — Every head teacher should be entitled to a sabbatical once every seven years — Appropriate CPD opportunities should be developed by NCSL for those senior teachers who do not aspire to headship.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision Recommendations — Government funded CPD opportunities such as the Best Practice Research Scholarships and Sabbatical programmes should be re-instated and expanded. — Outcomes based approaches to assessing the impact of CPD should be replaced by evaluation mechanisms which focus on the eVect of CPD on teachers’ professional practice and attitudes.

Memorandum submitted by the National Association of Head Teachers NAHT The National Association of Head Teachers [NAHT] is a trade union/professional association representing school leaders in schools across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Association has over 28,000 active members, working in secondary, primary, nursery and special schools, as well as colleges. The vast majority of primary and special school leaders are NAHT members, together with a large proportion of those in secondary schools. Members of NAHT therefore have a keen interest in the eVectiveness of all processes involved in developing and improving the quality of the workforce for whom they are responsible and for whose eVectiveness they are held accountable.

Understanding and Measuring Teaching Quality 1. School leaders are obliged to evaluate the quality of teaching and learning. NAHT ﬁrmly believes that isolating teaching is counter-productive for the ultimate indicator of good teaching is the quality of learning that ensues. There can be situations in which the teaching observed is good technically but is ineVective in that the wrong pedagogical tools have been chosen to achieve a given learning objective. 2. Some may argue that good teaching is deﬁned by the descriptors found in Ofsted’s inspection framework. NAHT, whilst accepting that this is a non-negotiable tool for accountability, would argue that this is a narrow and very blunt tool that fails to capture the complexity of productive interaction between teacher and taught. The restricted value of the framework descriptors is exacerbated by the less than helpful interpretation that “satisfactory” is, in fact, unsatisfactory. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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3. The complexity is added to by technological development that constantly challenges notions of what constitutes eVective pedagogy. This provides school leaders with the triple challenge of ensuring that there is investment in appropriate technology; that the school work force is trained to use it, not only in a technically proﬁcient sense but also in identifying its pedagogical potential. To use a sporting analogy, a golfer can master the technique of using a ﬁve iron but this is of no use unless she knows where on the golf course its use is appropriate.

Entry into the Teaching Profession 4. It is a relatively straight forward task to identify the characteristics of good teaching but to try to link these elements to a particular set of personal characteristics is more diYcult. An attempt to answer this question was made in a recent meeting of the Secondary Umbrella Group (a body drawn from the teaching unions and HE). The attributes were very similar to those identified by Teach First: humility, respect and empathy; good communicator; good subject knowledge; leadership skills; planning and organisational skills; problem solver; resilient; self-reflective. One would imagine that few would disagree with this set and this raises issues as to how diVerent institutions test for and evaluate them in their selection processes. 5. NAHT welcomes the diversity of routes into teaching and, in particular, the introduction of more flexible routes such as I-Teach. This is welcomed because of the potential it oVers to address diversity issues. We have reservations about the consistency of standards across the range of approaches. NAHT has severe reservations about the suggestion that a “fast track” route could be introduced for enforced career shifters. 6. We draw attention to the TDA survey findings amongst newly qualified teachers later in the submission and would make the point at this juncture that it presents evidence that significant numbers do not feel fully prepared for the demands of the classroom even with existing provision. This implies quite strongly that shorter courses would not produce the required quality. 7. The TDA survey of new entrants to the profession is conducted annually. NAHT believes that the fact that for most indicators between a quarter and a third of newly qualified teachers reported that in key areas their preparation was either adequate or poor. To put this in comparative terms, if schools facing an Ofsted inspection displayed ratings of this magnitude below “good” in key areas they would be incurring the risk of being placed in a category. 8. NAHT, whilst accepting that this is but one strand of the evaluation of the quality of initial teacher training, finds that this coincides with concerns expressed by members about the preparedness of some new entrants for the demands of the classroom. This is further reinforced by the Audit Commission’s report (2002) which found that teachers felt ill-equipped to meet the wide range of needs manifested in the contemporary classroom. The point can legitimately be made that the depth and breadth of needs has grown considerably since the time that report was written. 9. NAHT would therefore wish to draw attention to the fact that a significant amount of CPD in the initial years is expended upon bringing colleagues up to an acceptable base level rather than building upon the foundations laid during initial teacher training. 10. Specific concerns relate to lower satisfaction ratings associated with key aspects of the Government’s improvement agenda. An example is personalisation of learning. The less-than-good ratings for professional abilities required to deliver personalised learning include: monitoring, assessing, recording and reporting progress (38%) preparedness for teaching learners of diVerent abilities (38%) planning for progression in learning (30%) preparedness for working with learners with SEND (49%) and use of ICT in subject settings (36%)

The Delivery of ITT 11. It would be a bad thing if there was total uniformity between higher education institutions in terms of style and culture. Our members could probably describe how graduates of university A can be distinguished from those from university B. The key point is that there needs to be confidence that there is no such diversity in the consistency of standards. 12. All entrants have input from higher education institutions although the intensity and duration varies between routes. It is worth noting that Teach First and SCITT routes yield high satisfaction ratings yet are at the lower end of the HE input spectrum. This leads to the speculation that the more practical nature of the ITT process at the expense perhaps of greater theoretical input means that the latter does not have a significant impact on the capacity to be eVective in the classroom. 13. NAHT members generally report the existence of positive working relationships in partnerships with higher education institutions. It is not surprising that this is particularly the case where the relationships are long-standing and this has mutually beneficial spin-oVs, including being a fruitful channel for recruitment. Tensions can arise when schools and providers disagree about whether a trainee meets the required standard. NAHT’s impression is that schools are the more likely partner to take a firmer line. In contrast, anecdotal evidence suggests that in the partnership between schools and local authorities during the induction year, the LA is more likely to take the harder line. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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14. NAHT welcomes the opportunities that exist for school leaders and other teachers to develop coaching and mentoring skills. This is highly cost-eVective CPD given the highly transferable nature of such skills. We strike a more cautionary note with regard to this issue in the next section. The association believes that mentoring trainee teachers is an excellent opportunity for young and teachers need to develop leadership skills. 15. NAHT believes that there is much excellent practice in schools that needs to be more widely disseminated. Our proposals for establishing a national CPD portal could provide such a forum. Our concern is that the ever-increasing demands on the school workforce set against the backdrop of the increasing intensity of accountability precludes the possibility of dissemination to a wider audience.

Continuing Professional Development 16. Performance Management is based on the premise that priorities will emerge based on demands of the job description, relevant duties and relevant professional standards. Therefore, training and development needs will reflect the priorities that emerge from this individual mix; it is personalisation for teachers 17. However, there will also be circumstances in which training will be required that has not been identified from the PM process yet which is also vital. An example could include training for delivering the diploma. Although a professional “need” for an individual, the training is also essential for the school to operate eVectively. 18. This therefore introduces a level of CPD that is institutionally rather than individually driven. Whereas the argument that these two levels are mutually exclusive could not be advanced, it nevertheless creates the conditions for a tension for school leaders to resolve by achieving a balance between meeting the needs of the individual (with all that this implies for retention and motivation) and those of the institution in an era of steadily increasingly external accountability. 19. This tension is exacerbated by externally generated demands for a slice of the CPD cake. In the contemporary secondary context, for example, the examples of 14–19 reform, Controlled Assessment, Information, Advice and Guidance and PSHMEe can be cited. A further initiative that is cross-phase in impact is that of Assessment of Pupil Progress. 20. NAHT accepts that good school leaders are constantly engaged in balancing acts and striving to achieve the maximum returns from scarce resources, whether defined absolutely or relatively. In the case of CPD the constraints are particularly stark, being shaped to some considerable part by the remodelling and workforce agreement agendas. Five teacher development days and whatever time can be creatively gained elsewhere provide school leaders with a considerable challenge in meeting the competing demands for time. 21. NAHT applauds the creativity that so many school leaders display in rising to this challenge. In so doing they recognise that training and development transcends the traditional course based approach and acknowledge that a wide range of activities constitute professional development. They equally recognise the constraints upon their creativity including the impact of the “no-cover” agreement, availability of good- quality supply cover and tight budgets. 22. There is an aspect of CPD that lies beyond those areas hitherto defined. It relates to enabling colleagues to participate in programmes that will develop their middle and senior leadership potential. Examples of such provision include Leading from the Middle, Future Leaders and Teaching Leaders. Such programmes require the provision of a mentor/tutor drawn from the senior leadership team. 23. Added to this are similar requirements for programmes such as I-Teach, Teach First and the proposed Master of Teaching and Learning. 24. NAHT accepts the professional responsibility that school leaders accept for succession management in its broadest sense. However, this must be tempered with the impact that this has on workload at a time when increasing demands are being made of school leadership teams. 25. Elaborating on the above point, in recent months there have been announcements proposing that senior leaders accept responsibility for “championing” SEND, overseeing the implementation of Information, Advice and Guidance and for being the in-house assessment expert. These are specific, additional roles in addition to ensuring that other significant areas of change are eVectively implemented (eg statutory PSHEe) 26. NAHT’s concern, therefore, is both for the welfare of those involved and the impact that expanding portfolios have on manageability and the quality of outcomes. NAHT further cites this as evidence of the perceived unattractiveness of school leadership as a career aspiration amongst so many in the profession. 27. School leaders have always been required to manage the tension between ensuring that colleagues receive appropriate training and development and the impact the time expended is perceived to have on learning. NAHT accepts that the accountability of school leaders includes evaluating the eVectiveness of CPD, in particular its impact on teaching and learning. 28. For this reason NAHT believes that full account should be taken of research findings into what factors constitute eVective CPD practice. Accountability also extends to ensuring that it meets value for money criteria. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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29. The restrictions of the traditional “cascading” model involving a teacher attending an externally provided course and disseminating its content to colleagues are noted. The dissemination process is not always eVective and the learning does not become corporate. This is also an expensive approach given the cost not only of the course but also of providing supply cover. 30. This does not mean that NAHT would wish to discourage such activities across the piece, recognising the value, for example, of provision by examining bodies relating to new syllabuses and assessment. Such provision fits into the cascading model and its impact is capable of being readily assessed given that the end product is a public examination. 31. NAHT also acknowledges the value of training provided by teacher associations. Provision oVered reflects the needs cited by members. We note, however, that some provision, particularly for school leaders, covers areas that one might legitimately expect leadership programmes to have dealt with. Aspects of financial management spring to mind. 32. NAHT is impressed by research that describes the merits of collaborative approaches to professional development, for example, the NUT/EPPI Research Review. This is supported by experiences described by NAHT members. Such approaches are grounded in the needs of the school and teachers and the activity is framed by the desired outcomes. This is in contrast to what is often the case with traditional courses in which there is a kind of “best fit” process whereby courses are sought that come closest, on paper, to meeting a particular need. 33. It is recognised that collaborative CPD is an umbrella term for a range of practices and activities. We believe that such approaches address the needs of teachers as learners. It has the flexibility to design activities that meet individual requirements in a manner that enables preferred learning styles to be taken into account at the design stage. NAHT recognises the sound principles underpinning personalised learning for youngsters in schools and would propose that these principles are as appropriate for teachers and other members of the school workforce when cast in the role of learners. 34. A further advantage of collaborative approaches to CPD is that the methodology dovetails well with the methodology increasingly used in national programmes such as Leading from the Middle, Future Leaders and the revised NPQH. Teachers who are well-versed in action-research based collaborative CPD will be better placed to take maximum advantage of what such programmes oVer. 35. When teachers are cast in the role of learners they inevitably make judgements about the quality of delivery and provision from the perspective of being professional educators. This is sometimes manifested in the form of cynicism when an “expert” is involved. In a memorable phrase Alistair Smith described such individuals as “inset terrorists”. Collaborative approaches that involve teachers and experts working together yield diVerent reactions. An example is that of a project in a secondary school in Wandsworth, The headteacher was reluctant to take teachers out of the classroom and a project was designed that involved an “expert” consultant and individual teachers working together in planning, delivering and evaluating teaching over a period of time. When teachers involved were subsequently observed, all demonstrated significant improvement compared with previous observation outcomes. 36. The process of evaluating the impact of CPD can be lengthy. Judgements about improvements in the quality of teaching can be made at an earlier stage than judgements about the impact on learning, for example. 37. A web search yields a plethora of case studies, etc related to collaborative CPD. This oVers a potentially rich resource bank. When other readily available resources are added (Teachers TV; QCA, TDA and National Strategies websites; subject associations) the materials for designing and implementing collaborative CPD and for self-directed CPD are available. However, they are dispersed. NAHT advocates that there is scope for developing a national portal to facilitate ease of access. 38. NAHT maintains that any discussion of CPD must include preparation for senior leadership. 39. NCSL research asking the simple question, “Do you aspire to be a headteacher?” indicated that 32% responding in the aYrmative. This fell to 22% amongst classroom teachers. Primary teachers were slightly more ambitious than their secondary counterparts. (NCSL 2008) 40. The relative unattractiveness of headship is reflected in NCSL’s findings (2008) that 71% of teachers found their headteacher to be “inspiring” (supporting Ofsted’s conclusions regarding the quality of school leadership) yet only 35% found this suYciently inspiring to personally aspire to headship. 41. NAHT welcomes the current review into leadership standards and changes that have been made to the content of the NPQH programme. However, we believe that until there is a greater understanding of why headship is regarded as an unattractive career option amongst so many who possess the potential to discharge its responsibilities, reforming leadership training will not achieve its intended impact. 42. We also cite research carried out amongst NPQH graduates regarding their intentions. NAHT is disturbed at findings that a significant minority of NPQH graduates fell into NCSL’s “not intending to apply” target group. It is acknowledged that the revised arrangements target those ready to assume headship within 18 months. Whereas this ought to deal with the statistic that some 10% of graduates haven’t aspired to headship under the previous system, it does not address the basic issue of why this was the case. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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43. NAHT concludes that however more sharply focused the re-launched NPQH both in terms of content and targeted participants, the reduction in the numbers taken onto the programme allied with a failure to address the underlying causes of the relative unattractiveness of headship will not alleviate the crisis in recruitment of headteachers. 44. NAHT urges that the largely welcomed new arrangements are implemented in conjunction with the action required to increase the perceived attraction of headship as a career aspiration. The association concurred fully with the reasons identiﬁed in the report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2006 identifying workload, vulnerability in the context of the punitive culture of assessment and accountability and pay diVerentials as prime de-motivating factors. April 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) Executive Summary ATL believes that a richer view of teacher professionalism must be recognised and that teachers’ Professional Standards are undermined by a system of excessive accountability. This centre-driven accountability is particularly damaging to the local professional collaboration so valuable to teachers’ and schools’ CPD. ATL defines key elements of high-quality teacher professionalism which should be the drivers for eVective CPD: — as an intellectual profession, informed by knowledge of how pupils learn, of curriculum content and of teaching practices and methods; — with a basis in care and responsibility for pupils’ learning, including an understanding of equalities issues and how they impact on teaching and learning; — requiring knowledge of broader environment (global to local) and of the impact of politics, economics, social, environmental and technological factors; — informed by continuing professional development of that professional knowledge and understanding; and — needing to balance professional values against school and organisational responsibilities. This richer version of what makes for excellent teaching makes measurement of teacher quality a greater challenge under a system which uses narrow target-based measures. ATL outlines a vision where quality is judged through professional, collaborative dialogue and focused self-evaluation through moderated and high-expectation networks, both in and across schools. ATL believes that the Professional Standards for teachers at diVerent key stages provide us with suYcient detail to judge future entrants to the profession. Key concerns for ATL members on ITT are lack of consistency in quality at the placement stage, due to insuYcient resourcing at school level, in terms of time, training and funding. However, it is the workload that students face while on placement that raises the most concern, many citing the high levels of paperwork required by headteachers struggling with an excessive accountability regime. Members also feel that students and NQTs are insuYciently prepared in the areas of behaviour management and SEN. ATL’s own definition of teacher professionalism requires a revised and enriched interpretation of CPD, one which acknowledges the complexity of a teacher’s role. We believe that current CPD provision is disproportionately driven by national priorities and initiatives and unable to respond to or meet the needs of individual teachers. On an individual level, this leaves teachers de-motivated and can result in a shallow compliance with external top-down edicts without a deeper understanding of the principles, making any practice change to be less sustainable. ATL’s recommendations for action are for the Government to: — Review its understanding of teacher professionalism, starting with an acknowledgement of the reflective and creative nature of the profession. — Urgently review the current accountability system which is already narrowing the curriculum, continuing to cause unnecessary bureaucracy and related high workload, and providing little opportunity for innovation and collaboration. — Develop an accountability system which reflects professional dialogue at school and local network levels. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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ATL—leading education union 1. ATL, as a leading education union, recognises the link between education policy and our members’ conditions of employment. Our evidence-based policy making enables us to campaign and negotiate from a position of strength. We champion good practice and achieve better working lives for our members. We help our members, as their careers develop, through ﬁrst-rate research, advice, information and legal support. Our 160,000 members—teachers, lecturers, headteachers and support staff—are empowered to get active locally and nationally. We are aYliated to the TUC, and work with government and employers by lobbying and through social partnership.

ATL Policy 2. ATL believes that teachers as professionals must be recognised for their knowledge, expertise and judgement, at the level of the individual pupil and in articulating the role of education in facilitating social justice. Within light national parameters, development of the education system should take place at a local level: the curriculum should be developed in partnership with local stakeholders; assessment should be carried out through local professional networks. Schools are increasingly encouraged to work collaboratively to oVer excellent teaching and learning, and to support pupils’ well-being, across a local area. Accountability mechanisms should be developed so that there is a proper balance of accountability to national government, parents and the local community, which supports collaboration rather than competition.

Understanding and measuring teaching quality 3. On the one hand, it would seem that there is a strong shared evidence-based sense of what makes for good quality teaching and that this is embodied within the Professional Standards for teachers at diVerent career-stages. The Standards, agreed through Social Partnership, outline the attributes, knowledge and understanding, and skills required to meet the Standards. However, the measurement of pupil achievement and of the quality of teaching through narrow pupil achievement targets undermines many of those standards and the development of appropriate teacher professionalism. As the education union, ATL has articulated an understanding of teacher professionalism and what constitutes high-quality teaching which is the basis for our concerns regarding the current state of aVairs in ITT and CPD for teachers. The next five paragraphs outline this understanding. 4. ATL believes that teaching is an intellectual profession, based on a high degree of general and systematised knowledge. This includes an in-depth knowledge of: — Learning: how pupils learn, potential obstacles to learning, pre-conditions and dispositions to learning; how learning develops; and — Curriculum content: knowledge of subjects and the relationships between them, understanding of wider content such as the development of thinking skills, problem solving, questioning and group working, and a knowledge of how pupils’ understanding of particular content grows and develops. The teaching profession is also practical, and has a wide range of practices and methods. 5. Teaching has a basis in care and responsibility for pupils’ learning, leading to the need for knowledge and understanding of particular pupils as individuals, their interests, needs and potential obstacles to learning, knowledge developed through assessment and through relationships with pupils, families, communities and other professionals. They also need to have an understanding of equalities issues and how they can impact on teaching and learning. 6. The teaching profession needs knowledge about the complex and compelling forces that influence daily living in a changing world, including the political, economic, technological, social and environmental, in order to know what pupils need to learn both in the present and for the future. 7. Finally, teachers have the ability to adapt teaching practices and methods to particular pupils, drawing on their theoretical understanding of learning, their knowledge of curriculum content and their knowledge of what pupils need. This professional knowledge and understanding is not static: it changes and develops over time. Some of the change happens externally to the profession: knowledge of how the brain works or developments in subject knowledge; changes in political, social and cultural attitudes aVect the way that subjects are taught, or ways that children are perceived. Professionalism therefore implies a responsibility to the continued development of practical knowledge through reflection and interaction, to review the nature and eVectiveness of practice, and to continue to increase understanding of the purposes and content of education, individually and collectively. 8. Like all professional employees, teachers must balance professional values against their responsibilities to the institutions in which they work. Like all public servants, teachers must balance their autonomy against the powers of government. In a context of increasing involvement of parents and the wider community, the profession has a responsibility to demystify professional work and to develop relationships of trust with all concerned. Building on teachers’ knowledge and skills, the profession has a responsibility to further debate about policy and practice, to speak with authority on issues of the role of education, including its role and Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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purpose in tackling discrimination and disadvantage in all their manifestations and in promoting social justice. This does not take place in isolation, but needs the support of both employers and professional communities at school level and at wider local and national levels. 9. The measurement of teaching quality is a continuing challenge. The insistence on inspection against narrow achievement targets and performance against particular government initiatives leads to an emphasis on delivery rather than creativity, on adherence to strict guidelines rather than innovation, on tickboxes rather than deep learner engagement and compliance rather than autonomy and professional responsibility. 10. ATL’s joint literature review with the GTCE confirmed that collaborative CPD is among the most eVective type of CPD and there may be room for some measuring of quality through professional conversations between the partnerships and networks which schools develop to provide opportunities for this kind of collaboration to take place. These professional discussions will explore the concept of what is good teaching in a dynamic and meaningful way that is context-based but contains principles which can operate across a range of contexts. This would be far healthier and reflective of teacher professionalism than a definition which is static, something which is always exacerbated by an emphasis on narrow forms of measurement. This dialogue and self-evaluation would be empowering and challenging, allowing teachers autonomy to innovate and build vital learning relationships with their pupils, providing both a responsibility and a support for a continually reflective and developing professionalism.

Entry to the profession and initial teacher training 11. It is diYcult to comment on the characteristics of those most likely to be good teachers as at the moment, there is some conflict over what it is that teachers and schools should do and be responsible for, and the areas for which they should not be held responsible. The professional standards, agreed in partnership with diVerent stakeholders, including ATL, provide us with the attributes, knowledge and understanding and skills which teachers should have and it is on the basis of these documents that entry into the teaching profession should be decided. 12. Our members do not report widespread concerns regarding the range of routes into teaching. However, there is a growing concern regarding the QTS routes available to those in current SENCO roles who do not have QTS. There is a significant need for appropriate routes to the gaining of QTS that are supportive of the individuals and schools concerned and furthermore, that the current qualifications of people in these roles are properly accounted for and where relating directly to education and/or their roles as SENCOs, can be used to count significantly as credits towards the achievement of QTS. 13. ATL is very concerned about the aspects of the current ITT system which lead to many trainees either not completing their ITT or become NQTs feeling ill-prepared for their new roles. We have frequent complaints of placements in schools that are unsuitable and with mentors that are not as supportive (many due to their own time pressures) as they need to be. Members have also expressed the need for suYcient funding to be provided to placement schools to ensure suYcient training for staV to mentor student teachers; the incentive package given to schools to provide placements is felt to be inadequate and disproportionate to the amount of time given by school staV to supporting the student teachers. This problem is exacerbated by a lack of suYcient monitoring and supporting by HEIs of students while on their teaching placements. 14. Workload continues to be a serious issue for those concerned with ITT and its impact. Members reported that an overemphasis on detailed lesson plans and the growing amount of paperwork required by student teachers and NQTs (and indeed, experienced teachers) was leading to excessive workload, early burnout and a negative impact on classroom teaching due to exhaustion and a loss in motivation. Any addressing of this issue will involve looking at the impact of Ofsted in schools and of their inspection-foci and the pressure that many Heads feel to provide vast amounts of “evidence”, leading to a culture which emphasises bureaucratic and excessive accountability over a more balanced emphasis on classroom practice and room to innovate and develop. 15. Our members report that existing ITT provision does not adequately prepare or support trainees in the areas of equality and diversity, behaviour-management and SEN; that there is little direct or in-depth coverage of these subject areas. This is unacceptable both for the trainees and for the schools in which they have placements, and those in which they start teaching as NQTs. There needs to be more emphasis on these themes within the HEI programme, as taught areas and also as topics of particular focus and support on placements. 16. Our members, particularly those who are newly qualified, are concerned over the logistical diYculties that many students face on their student placements, with a high number having to travel considerable distances to their schools. When this is added to the significant amount of paperwork and planning expected from these students (which PPA time, whilst helpful, cannot cover), it is hardly surprising that many do not continue to finish their training. Long travel distances for student teachers also compromise the Government’s sustainability agenda for schools. 17. The capacity of the current ITT system (and HEIs within that) to encourage innovation and diversity in ITT is limited by the length of training period, extent of school placement and the eVect in schools of the accountability agenda in terms of encouraging risk-averse behaviour and compliance with Department- imposed strategies and initiatives. There needs to be a greater symbiosis between research as practised/ encouraged in HEIs and the kind of professional conversation which can underpin eVective development Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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and innovation at school-level. The current nature of partnership working is not as eVective as it needs to be nor is it sustainable with a need for greater funding/support at both levels. Both suVer from an over- emphasis on narrow targets limiting the provision they oVer and the extent to which they can encourage creativity and innovation.

Continuing Professional Development 18. The DCSF has deﬁned CPD as “any activity that increases teachers’ knowledge or understanding and their eVectiveness in schools and can help raise children’s standards and improve teachers’ job satisfaction” (www.teachernet.gov.uk). However, ATL, like researchers such as Day (1997), interpret the nature and purpose of CPD much more widely, stressing the crucial role of teachers in the transmission of values and the evaluation and development of education policy for which they need the knowledge and skills to stimulate, sustain and develop professional thinking.1 However, many teachers still hold a traditional view of CPD as consisting of courses, conferences and INSET days.

19. We know, from research evidence, that the receptiveness of teachers to and their enthusiasm for professional development is aVected by their own personal professional needs and yet ATL research shows that much of the CPD over the last ﬁve years has been driven by school development needs determined by national priorities and initiatives linked to the Government standards agenda. There has been no shortage of training but its impact may not always be commensurate with the level of funding/time it takes, as it’s left many teachers “training fatigued” and resentful of “being jumped through the hoops” with material having been “drawn up by people who don’t seem to be teachers’.”2

20. We recognise that the Strategies and the training it has driven have resulted in greater consistency of practice in literacy and numeracy, challenging teachers’ beliefs and stimulating professional learning. However, researchers have found that this heavy-handed approach to change has led to a change in practice not necessarily built on an understanding of its underpinning rationale or principles, stunting the capacity for its sustainment and development. It also risks the over-dependence on teachers on external authority, thus losing the capacity or desire to make professional judgements and become more reﬂective, the latter being key, we know, to eVective continuing professional development with signiﬁcant and positive impact on classroom practice.3

21. Many teachers see CPD as going on courses and while this is a narrow understanding, for many it is their main exposure to CPD opportunities. The courses which members found to be worthwhile CPD were those that were well-structured, focused, presented by professionals with recent knowledge, encouraged active learning and were relevant and applicable to school and classroom settings. Those that were not considered helpful were those that were “one size fits all” and which were not adapted to participants’ needs. The key constraints on access to courses were lack of time, heavy workload, financial cost and distance. However, there is a growing emphasis, which we welcome, on schools as learning communities within broader learning networks although the Government must recognise the anomaly of this reflective professionalism with an agenda which has such an over-emphasis on external testing, heavy accountability and from-the-centre directives.

Conclusion 22. The Committee will need to consider, from the beginning of this review, what teacher professionalism means, particularly if we wish for the pupils of today and tomorrow to become active citizens, equipped with the knowledge, skills and understanding they need to participate positively in society, in work, in their communities and families. These young people will need to be lifelong learners, and flexible to the needs of an employment market which, due to technological advances and changing financial circumstances, requires that ability to learn, adapt and often to innovate. From that definition, we must develop a system of ITT and teacher CPD and a school/accountability culture which allows the growth of that professionalism within a supportive and critical framework. February 2009

Submission References 1. Webb, R and Vulliamy, G (2006) Coming full circle: The impact of New Labour’s education policies on primary school teachers’ work, Association of Teachers and Lecturers.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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Memorandum submitted by the Association of School and College Leaders Introduction 1. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) represents over 14,500 members of the leadership teams of maintained and independent schools and colleges throughout the UK. This places the association in a unique position to comment on ITT and CPD from the viewpoint of the leaders of secondary schools and colleges.

Summary 2. In summary: — There is a significant bank of evidence to indicate the range of teaching and learning experiences for students that are considered best practice. — There is not “one way” of teaching that is considered best practice but a range of alternatives. — The quality of ITT has improved and teachers entering the profession are better prepared than previously. — It is important to retain a range of routes into teaching. — It is recognised that the teaching profession does not yet have an appropriate diversity of personnel including a balance of ethnicity and gender. — The allocation of ITT places could take more note of regional and specific area shortages. — The anomalous situation between QTS and QTLS needs resolution. — The coverage of areas such as SEN in ITT programmes needs review. — CPD is both a responsibility and an entitlement for all staV. — ASCL recognises that the enhanced profile of school/college-based planned and mature CPD is ultimately the most eVective means of raising the quality of teaching and learning through the development of the organisation’s most precious resource: its people.

Measuring Quality 3. There is a significant bank of evidence to indicate the range of types of teaching and learning experiences for students that will be considered good, or best, practice in terms of learning and teaching. This evidence can be seen in the literature and websites of organisation such as QCA, Ofsted, TDA, subject associations, projects and national strategies. 4. There are many ways in which this evidence base is eVectively shared including the use of CPD, web based information and subject association literature. 5. It should be emphasised that there is not “one way” of delivering best practice in learning and teaching. A “one approach fits all” to teaching will quite simply fail. The skill of the good teacher is in determining the best approach for the specific students given the desired learning outcomes and being able to select the most appropriate activities and use of learning styles to achieve these outcomes. 6. The use of Learning Objectives, Assessment for Learning (AfL) and Assessing Pupil’s Progress (APP) are examples of work that are commonly recognised as strands of best practice. 7. The quality of teaching is measured in a wide range of ways including: — Student outcomes in terms of internal and external assessment. — Student outcomes in terms progress. — Lesson observations by more experienced staV. — Peer review. — Use of coaching and mentoring. — Teacher self assessment and review. — Performance management procedures. — External review eg Ofsted inspection. — Quality of lesson planning (individual and shared). It should be emphasised that the focus is often very much on how well the students are learning and making progress.

Entry into the Teaching Profession 8. The evidence from members of the association is that we have seen a signiﬁcant number of high quality NQTs enter the profession over the last few years 9. The quality of ITT has improved and teachers entering the profession are better prepared than previously. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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10. There is currently some degree of confusion over the diVerent entry routes into the profession and clearer and more coherent guidance would assist those considering becoming a teacher. 11. It is important to retain a range of entry routes into teaching to attract those at diVerent stages of their life and current career. Paid routes into teaching such as the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) are attractive alternatives for those considering a career change. 12. School centred training is giving trainees a good foundation and leading to high quality NQTs. SCITT is recognised as a valuable route into teaching although, like many of the other routes it involves too much bureaucracy and too much of a tick box approach to trainee assessment. 13. It is recognised that the teaching profession does not yet have an appropriate diversity in staV including a balance of ethnicity and gender. 14. Maintaining a variety of routes into teaching will encourage a diversity in the intake and showing some flexibility with entry requirements for applicants who have spent a significant amount of time in other careers would not only aid recruitment but could also assist in improving the balance and diversity of those involved in teaching. 15. The positive evaluations of Teach First indicate that consideration should be given to an accelerated extension into other regions. 16. The allocation of ITT places should take more note of regional and specific area shortages. Many ITT students do not move area from their training institution when they take up their first appointment. 17. There has been a failure to oVer enough training places in some subject areas that have been increasing in popularity over the last few years eg psychology, sociology, law. 18. A number of the areas indicated above mainly operate at post-16 level and the diYculty of transferring from the FE sector into schools needs to be addressed. As a result of recent legislation, there is a requirement for FE teachers to achieve Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status (QTLS). In the case of Sixth Form Colleges, Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and QTLS are both acceptable. In the case of schools QTS is required. 19. An anomaly has arisen in that school teachers with QTS or equivalent are able to top up this qualification in order to obtain QTLS if they wish to transfer to teach in a college, the reverse is not possible. This is an inequitable situation and should be addressed. The extreme case is that a school cannot employ a QTLS to work entirely post-16 as a qualified teacher even though they could have years of experience doing exactly the same teaching in a college. 20. This situation is clearly an unintended consequence of legislation which equates a specific qualification with a particular type of institution (School or Further Education College) and not the actual needs of types of learners within these institutions. It would appear sensible for the Department to consider revising the QTS/QTLS arrangements in order to allow for a similar top up facility for those with QTLS as for that currently available to QTS holders. Similarly, consideration should be given to enable those with QTLS status to work as qualified teachers in schools if their commitment is with post-16 students only. 21. The shortage of training places given in paragraph 17 also applies to Special Educational Needs (SEN) and the provision of specific training routes for those wishing to work with students with a range of special needs would, over time, improve the provision for teaching students with SEN. 22. SEN is one of the areas that are reported to the association as an area with limited coverage through the ITT of many NQTs. A specific and dedicated sector specific programme for all trainees would assist in tackling this shortfall. 23. Other areas reported as similarly having limited coverage in many ITT courses include the role of the tutor, student support services, careers education and personal, social and health education. All of these areas impact on the work of most secondary school teachers. 24. One way of helping new teachers being prepared for work in schools in more challenging circumstances is to ensure that trainees experience working in a successful school in challenging circumstances at some stage of their training. Although full placements would be diYcult, given the number of trainees, alternatives such as short term placements in groups of students could help prepare trainees. Alternative such as special programmes prior to taking up appointment could also be considered.

The Delivery of ITT 25. Our evidence is based on feedback from members and this would indicate that the delivery is very variable but the best is very good and there is a great deal of good practice to share. 26. The range and variation in approaches and requirements with regard to diVerent HE providers can aVect a school’s ability to deliver. This is not an argument against diversity in the sense of the availability of a range of entry routes but a request for a more consistent pattern of timings and administrative procedures which currently can be bureaucratic and burdensome to those who are accessing a range of HE providers. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27. It will be essential to ensure that the partnership between schools and higher education institutions for ITT delivery continues and ﬂourishes. The use of school staV who train and work as mentors to new teachers is excellent professional development. 28. There are concerns that some of those staV involved in the delivery of ITT in HE can quickly become out of date and lose touch with the reality of teaching. Some way of ensuring that they have recent and relevant experience by the use of secondments or part-time teaching may address this issue. 29. ASCL is not convinced that there is any great coordination of educational research informing ITT provision. 30. There are concerns that some high quality training schools will lose their training school status because of the strict application of the criteria for high performing specialist schools (HPSS) which is completely unrelated to their training expertise and track record.

CPD Provision 31. ASCL considers that the participation in relevant development activities is both an entitlement and a responsibility for all staV in schools and colleges. ASCL believes that what is needed in education is a professional development culture to which all staV are committed. 32. CPD for all staV, both teaching and other staV, is recognised as central to, and should focus on, improving the quality of student learning and achievement. There must be a balance between meeting the needs of the individual member of staV and the school, students and the education service. 33. EVective CPD motivates and retains staV, helps them to appreciate their impact on the organisation, enhances their confidence and facilitates succession planning. It enables staV to keep their skills and knowledge up to date with changes and developments in curriculum, pedagogy, technology and legislation. It encourages innovation based on knowledge and research. 34. Training to ensure compliance with specific standards and requirements (eg health and safety, exam regulations, and data protection) is also a key part of CPD. 35. There has been much research into eVective CPD in recent years. The work of the professional associations, the Training and Development Agency (TDA), National College for School Leadership (NCSL), Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS), Institute for Learning (IfL) and General Teaching Council (GTC) provides helpful information and guidance. 36. Local, regional and national organisations and structures, along with the internet, should play a role in enabling all staV to develop and share good practice. Research shows that CPD is most eVective when it is: — Seen as an integral part of working life. — Shared and collaborative. — Activity based. — Relevant to the person’s professional context. — Impacting positively upon practice. — Planned and evaluated in a systematic way. — Developed and sustained over time. 37. CPD is best when planned as part of the cycle of institutional, team and individual self-review and development. It is an integral part of professional performance review, as evaluation of current performance can identify development needs. Individual, team and school/college improvement or development plans should indicate clearly the CPD to support improvement strategies. 38. ASCL believes that, in a learning community, all staV should participate in performance reviews to help them to identify and plan for their CPD needs. All staV should be encouraged to maintain a personal professional development portfolio. 39. Professional standards provide a benchmark to guide people in the continuum of development. EVective CPD recognises diVerent career stages and a cycle of coherent development which each individual will repeat many times: — Induction to the post. — Consolidation of skills and expertise. — Maintenance of up-to-date employment-related knowledge. — Refreshment (developing new ideas and skills). — Extension and career progression (taking on additional responsibilities/attaining further qualifications/moving into the upper pay spine/developing as leaders, higher level teaching assistants etc). — Changing roles. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 112 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

40. A culture of mutual support is an invaluable asset in the growth and development of both the reflective practitioner and the organisation. The following is an illustrative but not inclusive list of eVective CPD activity: — Informal discussion. — Teamwork, peer observation and mutual support within departments. — Working groups and committees. — Workshops. — Middle leaders gaining experience by working within the leadership team. — Self-review through observing good practice and analysing student performance. — Coaching, modelling and mentoring (Coaches and mentors need training for their role and their skills should be recognised through appropriate accreditation, as has been the case with ASTs and fast track teachers.) — Studying and conducting research. — Keeping up to date and improving qualifications through journals, the internet, training days, online learning, Teachers TV and formal study. — Performance management and structured feedback from peers, managers, inspectors, mentors and coaches which make a significant contribution to staV development. — Formal training days. (These are invaluable forms of professional development and should be used flexibly and creatively by the school/college. For example, some institutions aggregate specific twilight sessions. Co-operative scheduling of training days can allow partnerships to develop between institutions.) — Shadowing and apprenticeship. — Sabbaticals which provide the opportunity to broaden experience and reflect on good practice. 41. ASCL strongly supports the role of system leaders—teachers and other staV working beyond their own institutions who contribute to system-wide improvement. — StaV both contribute to and benefit from working with subject associations, professional associations, NCSL, IfL, LSIS and GTC and higher education institutions. — StaV create partnerships through exchanges, online communities, local and regional networks and other agencies beyond education. Such partnerships/networks can be based upon subject expertise, levels of responsibility, approaches to learning or on cross-phase continuity and progression. 42. No single institution is large enough to organise its entire CPD provision. Partnerships with other institutions are a highly eVective way of increasing capacity for high quality provision. 43. ASCL welcomes the recognition that successful CPD takes a variety of forms. However, adequate resources, including time, have to be provided. 44. CPD is more eVective and more manageable when planning is at the school or college, not the local authority, level. School/college closure days are a substantial investment of public money which should form an integral part of a school’s annual planned programme of provision. Exceptional closure days may be used to support the introduction of new national initiatives. These should support and enhance the quality of teaching and learning. Training needs should not be imposed at the national, regional or LA level. CPD should be organised so as to minimise the disruption to the learning of students. 45. Funding should be suYcient and so managed as to provide a practical entitlement to CPD for all members of staV regardless of the sector or geographical location of the institution. Funding should not be diverted at the local level from schools and colleges to local authorities. Funding for professional development should not be ring-fenced. 46. Schools and colleges should be free to use funding to best eVect, but should be required to identify, meet and account for their role in meeting the professional development needs of individuals. 47. It is important to understand if and how time and money invested in CPD are making the intended diVerence. Evaluation should focus on the impact of CPD on professional practice and learning and outcomes for learners. It should be based on a range of evidence, including learner feedback, data and performance reviews. 48. Consideration should be given to longer term evaluation, as often the eVects of CPD are not immediately recognisable. ASCL appreciates that it is often diYcult to measure the direct impact of CPD on student outcomes. 49. Wherever appropriate, professional development activity should provide recognised and suitable accreditation but this should not be an end in itself. ASCL fully supports the development of nationally recognised qualifications for middle leaders, school business managers, bursars, higher-level teaching Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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assistants and teachers, through the Teacher Learning Academy (TLA). The TLA can only currently be oVered to those with qualiﬁed teacher status (QTS). ASCL believes the TLA’s remit should be extended. ASCL also endorses other national training schemes with recognised training and development in situ. 50. ASCL believes that accreditation at master’s level (rather than a master’s degree) should be an aspiration, not a requirement, for all and is pleased that the government intends to support further professionalism for school teachers through the introduction of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) 51. It would however appear to be a narrow view for this government sponsored qualiﬁcation to be available only to school teachers. It would be logical, given the Government commitment to learning and skills, for this also to be available to those teaching 16–19 year olds in the sixth form college and general further education sectors. 52. One major concern to the association is the potential impact of “rarely cover” on CPD. Our own training organisation is already seeing staV withdrawn from training events on the day of the programme because the school has too many staV away and they cannot manage to cover the person on the training. 53. I hope that this is of value to your inquiry; ASCL is willing to be further consulted and supply further information as required. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by NASUWT The NASUWT is the largest teachers’ union in the UK and is pleased to be invited to submit evidence to this Inquiry by the Select Committee. The Union represents teachers and school leaders and its membership also includes thousands of student teachers undergoing Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The format of this evidence follows the terms of reference issued by the Select Committee.

Summary of the Key Points in the Evidence Background and Context — Policy and practice in relation to ITT and CPD can only be developed meaningfully and coherently if full account is taken of the broader policy context. — Of particular importance with regard to policy development for ITT and CPD is the ongoing reform and remodelling of the school workforce and the place of training and development in the revised performance management system.

Measuring Quality — Attempts to codify “good practice” mechanistically and establish expectations that such practice should be followed in all circumstances work to undermine teachers’ professionalism and their ability to apply appropriate pedagogic strategies. — Teaching is not simply a technical exercise involving the discharge of a prescribed range of tasks but is a complex, intellectual activity requiring the application of higher-level skills and understanding. — There are deep concerns about the current school accountability regime that seeks to articulate “quality” through crude evidence of limited qualitative measures of performance.

Entry into the Teaching Profession — High quality ITT is the critical foundation to the development of a highly professional teaching workforce.

Entry requirements for ITT — Attempts to raise the minimum qualiﬁcations would be inappropriate and there is no coherent case for doing so.

The management and delivery of ITT provision — There must be over-arching strategic management of the number of ITT places. — Some ITT providers do not deliver consistently eVective and relevant training. — School placements for ITT are limited in number and of variable quality. Action needs to be taken to identify the barriers to school participation and strategies put in place to address them. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 114 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Routes into teaching — The NASUWT supports in principle a range of routes into teaching as a means by which diVerent circumstances and backgrounds of potential entrants can be recognised and exploited to the beneﬁt of the profession. — There are no grounds to sustain the view that some existing routes are inherently more eVective than others. The critical issue is that all routes should oVer a common minimum entitlement and provide high quality support. — The system in Scotland of guaranteeing a placement for a year in a school to all those students successfully completing ITT should be adopted in England and the rest of the UK. — The position and experiences of overseas trained teachers, particularly discrepancies in the recognition of qualiﬁcations and access to training and support should be addressed.

Enhancing the diversity of the teaching profession — The diversity of the workforce is dependent on professional practices that are fully supportive of equality related objectives. — Equality of access to ITT courses and institutions should be examined, together with the quality of advice on application for and during ITT programmes. — Under representation remains a signiﬁcant area of concern within the school workforce. — Continued and sustained action is required to secure a genuinely diverse teaching workforce.

The preparedness of new entrants to the teaching profession — While evidence shows that most NQTs are satisﬁed with their training prior to starting their ﬁrst teaching post, levels of dissatisfaction increase once they have spent a term working as a teacher. — There are high levels of dissatisfaction with the eVectiveness of training with regard to SEN, non- specialist subjects, managing workload and dealing with parents. — There appears to be a lack of cohesion between the content and nature of the training and realities of some key aspects of classroom practice and education policy.

CPD Provision — The revised performance management arrangements provide the ﬁrst coherent and formal vehicle for identifying training and development needs of teachers and headteachers, including those in central services and alternative provision who have been badly served historically compared to their school based colleagues. — Signiﬁcant culture change is required throughout the system to ensure CPD is given priority and considered important. There is a need for a more eVective system-wide understanding about the nature and importance of CPD. — The teacher’s contract should be amended to provide an entitlement to CPD. — The position of supply teachers and their access to CPD needs urgent review.

Background and Context 1. The NASUWT’s submission is based upon its ongoing engagement with members and is informed by the Union’s casework conducted on behalf of members, independent research commissioned by the Union and the NASUWT’s direct involvement in and contribution to policy development in the areas covered by the Inquiry through membership of the social partnership with government. 2. Of particular significance in the context of this Inquiry is the ongoing five-year longitudinal study of the experiences of newly qualified teachers commissioned by the NASUWT from Perpetuity Research and Consultancy International (PRCI). 3. This study is providing detailed, current and valuable information and data on key aspects of the impact of ITT, induction and early professional development policy and practice from the perspective of new entrants to the profession. It has already been used to inform policy developments by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) 4. Reference is made in the following sections of this evidence to the study findings, the second phase of which is scheduled to be published shortly. A copy of the first phase is appended to this evidence.20

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5. It is important to ensure that the relationship between ITT and CPD is understood and recognised in any work undertaken to support teachers and headteachers to make the best possible use of their professional skills, talents and expertise, to ensure all pupils are able to access their entitlement to the range of learning experiences that will enable them to develop their educational potential to the fullest possible extent. 6. The framework established by the professional standards for teachers is particularly important in the context of this Inquiry. The standards provide the framework for a teacher’s career progression. 7. ITT and CPD are distinctive in the sense that ITT is focused on preparation for entry into the teaching profession and CPD supports teachers from entry and progression towards meeting the professional standards at specific career stages. Both, however, should seek to secure and maintain high quality, and support teachers in working eVectively. 8. Policy and practice in relation to ITT and CPD can only be developed meaningfully and coherently if full account is taken of broader policy context. 9. Two key policy developments of particular importance in this regard are: — the ongoing reform and remodelling of the school workforce; and — the significant changes in relation to CPD and its place in the revised system of performance management, implemented in September 2007, as part of the new professionalism agenda. 10. Since 2003, the NASUWT has been working in social partnership with the Government and has reached a series of agreements which take forward a shared vision of a remodelled school workforce in which teachers and headteachers, working with qualified support staV, have conditions of service which enable them to focus on their core roles of teaching and leading and managing teaching and learning. 11. The provisions of these agreements laid the foundations for a new teacher professionalism which builds on and embeds these achievements to deliver further improvements in teaching and learning and in teachers’ and headteachers’ motivation and morale. 12. New teacher professionalism has at its heart the development of a system where those who manage teachers and headteachers engage in a professional dialogue with them, respect them as professionals and make decisions about their work and contribution in an open and fair manner. 13. Underlying new teacher professionalism is the aim that continuing professional development is an ongoing part of the everyday activities of a teacher and headteacher, rather than a separate activity which adds to their workload. 14. The revised performance management arrangements provide and formalise, through a regulatory framework, the identification of development and training activities, taking into account the school’s needs and priorities, as well as the teacher’s and headteacher’s needs, career and other aspirations. Prior to introduction of these revised performance management arrangements, there was no universal process requiring the training and development needs of teachers and headteachers to be considered either regularly or formally. This process has yet to be embedded fully in schools. 15. The issues relating to CPD are developed further in this evidence under the section “CPD Provision”.

Measuring Quality 16. Good quality teaching is that which enables pupils to achieve their full educational potential. However, the distinctive features of “good quality teaching” have been, and continue to be, contested in discourses on the nature of eVective pedagogy and practice. This is not unsurprising as distinctive views on the nature of eVective professional practice are characteristic of highly skilled professional occupations, where ongoing reflection on the form and impact of practice, among both practitioners themselves and among associated academic communities, is well established. 17. This ongoing process of reflection, debate and reformation of ideas and contexts in relation to pedagogy means that it is unlikely that any credible, definitive and durable depiction of the detailed features of “quality teaching” could ever be established which would apply in every context within which teachers work. These contexts can vary to such a significant extent as a result of, for example, the stage of development of the pupils being taught, their personal, emotional or social circumstances, the particular area of learning in question or priorities in relation to teaching and learning established within each setting. It is, therefore, highly unlikely that application of uniform notions of good practice in every possible learning scenario would be either possible or desirable. 18. This highlights a critical aspect of the concept of professionalism as it relates to the classroom practice of teachers. In seeking to meet the diverse needs of the pupils for which they are responsible, teachers draw from their repertoire of skills, knowledge and expertise to construct approaches to teaching and learning that suit the distinctive characteristics of each particular learning episode. 19. This continual process of synthesis by teachers of reflection on their own and others’ practice, educational theory and the nature of the circumstances within which learning takes place means that attempts to codify “good practice” mechanistically and establish expectations that such practice should be Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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followed in all circumstances would not only work to undermine teachers’ professionalism but also their ability to apply appropriate pedagogic strategies to secure eVective and engaging learning experiences for all pupils. 20. Teaching is not simply a technical exercise involving the discharge of a prescribed range of tasks but is a complex intellectual activity requiring the application of higher-level skills and understandings. 21. This understanding of the nature of professional practice gives emphasis to many of the NASUWT’s longstanding concerns about the implications of the current school accountability regime and some practice within schools that seeks to articulate “quality” in relation to teaching through crude evaluation of limited qualitative measures of performance.

Entry into the Teaching Profession 22. The NASUWT’s perspective on entry requirements into ITT begins from the principle that high quality initial teacher training is a critical foundation to the development of a highly professional teaching workforce. The NASUWT is concerned that some providers of ITT do not deliver consistently eVective and relevant training and that there is as a result noticeable variation in the quality of training received. 23. The Union is also concerned by the variable quality of school placements to support ITT. The Union has raised with the Training and Development Agency (TDA) concerns about placements. The response has been that as only a limited number of schools are prepared to participate and therefore choice is limited. The NASUWT believes that this situation should be addressed by examining the barriers to school participation and then developing strategies to address them. 24. It is not possible to separate analysis of the quality of ITT from consideration of the requirements for entry candidates must demonstrate in order to be accepted onto an ITT programme. 25. Currently, entry requirements require the prior attainment of Level 2 qualifications recognised within the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) in numeracy and literacy and additionally, for primary phase entrants, a comparable science qualification. 26. The NASUWT does not object to a requirement that all teachers should be able to demonstrate that they have a sound grasp of the core curriculum subjects. However, there are suggestions that the minimum entry requirement should be raised by, for example, requiring candidates to demonstrate achievement of GCSE Grade B or equivalent rather than the current GCSE Grade C or equivalent standard. 27. Any attempt to raise the minimum qualification requirements in this respect would be inappropriate. To support this view, the Committee’s attention is drawn to the findings of the Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Primary Schools and the Early Years, chaired by Sir Peter Williams, which issued its final report in June 2008. 28. The Review examined in detail claims that raising minimum GCSE requirements in respect of mathematics for entry into ITT for primary teachers would secure a teaching workforce more able to support eVectively pupil progress in mathematics in the three to 11 age range. The Review concluded unequivocally that there is no evidence that a teacher with a GCSE Grade B in mathematics would be a better teacher of the subject than a candidate who has a GCSE Grade C. It therefore rejected the proposal. 29. Concerns were also highlighted in the Williams Review that raising the minimum entry requirement into teaching in this way could impact seriously on recruitment into the profession and reduce the diversity of the pool of potential applicants without any evidence that higher entry qualifications would generate meaningful benefits for pupils. The NASUWT sees no reason why this conclusion should not apply in respect of entry to the teaching profession in all subjects and all age phases. 30. The NASUWT believes that there is no coherent case for raising the current minimum entry requirements in respect of English, Mathematics and Science from their current level. Of more importance is high quality ITT and placing new teachers in posts that are matched to their qualifications with the appropriate level of support.

The management of training places at national level 31. There must be over-arching strategic management of the number of the ITT places available across the education system. Currently, this responsibility is devolved by the DCSF to the TDA. The standards in respect of the quality and scope of ITT provision are established by the TDA in its Requirements for Initial Teacher Training and ITT providers are inspected by Ofsted against these requirements. The NASUWT has concerns about the extent to which this quality assurance and accountability framework secures the entitlement of all teachers in training to basic, common standards of provision. 32. The management of ITT at a national level is a complex process and includes consideration of demographic trends in terms of ﬂuctuations in the number of school age pupils, changes in curriculum content and structure as well as the establishment and maintenance of appropriate pupil/teacher ratios. The national level management of ITT places must not be undertaken in a way that might compromise the quality of ITT provision, particularly where signiﬁcant and relatively rapid increases are sought in the number of places available in particular courses or age phases. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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33. In circumstances where it is anticipated that pupil numbers may fall this may create a pretext for reducing expenditure on ITT on the grounds that fewer teachers will be required. Management of numbers on this basis, however, is not only short-termist, but fails to seize the opportunity presented by such circumstances to improve pupil/teacher ratios and thereby enhance the quality of educational provision. 34. An additional key issue is the diYculties experienced by many NQTs in securing employment for their induction year, immediately or soon after completing ITT. Failure to ﬁnd a placement prevents them from building, in a timely manner, upon the skills, knowledge and experience gained during ITT. This is not only stressful and demoralising for new teachers in such circumstances, but also represents a waste of the public resources invested in their ITT. It is for this reason, that the NASUWT continues to urge the Government to adopt in England and across the UK the system in Scotland, whereby new entrants to the teaching profession are guaranteed employment in a post within which they can complete their induction immediately after completing their initial training. This would avoid potentially excellent teachers abandoning teaching as a career or embarking on supply teaching which, for many, is a very negative experience due to lack of appropriate support and advice.

Routes into teaching 35. The NASUWT supports in principle the existence of a range of routes into teaching as a means by which the diVerent circumstances and backgrounds of potential entrants into teaching can be recognised and exploited to the benefit of the profession. For example, the development of courses designed to support the entry into teaching of individuals from non-traditional backgrounds in terms of accredited academic learning. This serves not only to enhance the drive for diversity in the teaching workforce but also helps to ensure that the education system can benefit from a wide range of skills and experience. 36. There are no grounds to sustain the view that some existing routes into teaching are inherently more eVective than others. The critical consideration is that all routes into teaching should oVer a common minimum entitlement in respect of the experience of teachers in training, with appropriate degrees of personalisation to meet the needs of individuals and high quality support that allow them to work towards and achieve the core QTS standards. 37. The NASUWT’s research highlights a degree of variation in the extent to which newly qualified teachers reported dissatisfaction with the quality of their training related to the particular route into teaching they had followed. 38. It is important not to forget the position and experiences of overseas trained teachers and their entry into the profession in the UK. There are significant issues relating to discrepancies in recognition of qualifications and access to training and support for gaining QTS which need to be addressed.

Enhancing the diversity of the teaching profession 39. The development of an education system that promotes equality and diversity and tackles discrimination and prejudice depends critically upon approaches to the recruitment and retention of the teaching workforce that reflect these critical objectives. 40. Issues related to diversity and the teaching workforce are complex and extremely important. Recent attention has focused on the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities, people from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups and male primary teachers.21 In the context of enhancing the diversity of the teaching workforce it is crucial to make sure that there is equality of access to ITT courses and institutions. There is some evidence of stereotyping which leads to segregation on the grounds gender, race, ethnicity and disability. For example Asian teachers for maths and science. A further example is that while women make up the majority of teachers across the profession as a whole, there are still serious issues in relation to the recruitment of women onto science and mathematics Initial Teaching Training programmes.22 This highlights the importance of continued work to monitor and take steps to address underrepresentation where it is identified both in terms of recruitment into ITT and monitoring and addressing the reasons for withdrawal from training programmes. 41. It is clear that there is a need for more research to be undertaken into the nature and extent of barriers faced in accessing ITT, particularly for example in relation to disability. Existing research into underrepresentation suggests that a lack of guidance and support during ITT programmes can be a major contributor to withdrawal from courses and can also act as a powerful reputational disincentive to encouraging potential candidates from underrepresented groups from applying for entry into ITT programmes. Recruitment practices of some schools also deter or disadvantage teachers from some under- represented groups. Any eVective strategy to address underrepresentation eVectively must be based on an understanding of the particular circumstances and needs of specific groups. It cannot rely solely on approaches that seek to tackle this issue in an undiVerentiated and uninformed way.23

21 Bielby G. Sharp C. Shuayb M. Teeman D. Keys W. Beneﬁeld P. (2007). Recruitment and retention on initial teacher training. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research. 22 Moreau M-P. Osgood J. Halsall A. (2005). The career progression of women teachers in England: a study of barriers to promotion and career development. London: London Metropolitan University. 23 Bielby et al op cit. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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42. The diversity of the qualiﬁed teaching workforce is also dependent upon professional practices that are fully supportive of equality-related objectives. In relation to CPD, it is unlikely that teaching will be well placed to retain the diverse workforce that the current strategies seek to secure if provision is not established in a way that allows full access to CPD opportunities for all teachers. 43. It is clear that underrepresentation remains a signiﬁcant area of concern within the education system and that continued and sustained action will be required to secure a genuinely diverse teaching workforce.

The preparedness of new entrants to the teaching profession 44. The NASUWT research found that while most NQTs were satisfied with the training they had received prior to starting their teaching post, levels of dissatisfaction with training increased significantly once respondents had spent at least a term working as qualified teachers. 45. There were high levels of dissatisfaction with the eVectiveness of training on SEN, the delivery of non- specialist subjects, managing workload and dealing with parents. 46. There appears to be a serious lack of cohesion between the content and nature of training and the realities of some key aspects of classroom practice.

CPD Provision 47. The NASUWT believes that CPD for teachers and headteachers currently is inadequate. 48. There are a number of reasons for this which include: — failure to provide NQTs with their statutory induction entitlements; — failure at national, local and school level to prioritise CPD and recognise its importance; — the view held by some schools that providing CPD is “disruptive” or too expensive; — the absence from the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document of a contractual entitlement to CPD for teachers and headteachers; — failure to build appropriate time and resources for training into “new initiatives” emanating from national or local government or individual schools; — the availability and absence of rigorous evaluation of high quality training provision. 49. A quality induction experience is an essential beginning to a career in teaching. The NASUWT has extensive evidence of NQTs being denied their statutory entitlements, including the reduced contact time necessary for planning, professional reﬂection and development opportunities and to reﬂect on practice. The provision and quality of mentoring support is also variable. Too many NQTs are pressurised inappropriately into taking on additional responsibilities and express concerns about excessive workload. The practice in some schools of placing NQTs on temporary contracts, even when the vacancy is permanent, “just to see how they work out” creates uncertainty, demotivates and disempowers the NQT. 50. The NASUWT has detailed evidence of poor practice from the research the Union has conducted and the tracking system the Union has established which follows groups of NQTs through their induction year. The NASUWT evidence has led Ministers to introduce provisions in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill to secure compliance with statutory provisions for induction. 51. Some approaches to CPD are time-consuming, workload-intensive and associated with high levels of bureaucracy. The pressure for teachers to participate “in their own time” pays no regard to workload and also restricts access for teachers with family or carer responsibilities. 52. Analysis of practices within schools and local authorities in relation to CPD by the Rewards and Incentives Group24 highlighted the need to review the basis upon which decisions about CPD were being taken so that more coherent and eVective approaches to developing the skills, knowledge and expertise of teachers could be developed. 53. The RIG evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body in 2005 stated: “Teachers have always sought to maintain and develop their expertise, helped colleagues to review and improve their practice, and seen themselves as learning professionals. The new teacher professionalism espouses a culture of greater openness where all teachers are engaged in eVective professional development which enhances pupil attainment and teachers’ job satisfaction, and supports school improvement and teachers’ career progression. “Where all parties are properly engaged in a discussion of development needs, RIG believes that the needs of the school and those of the teacher will often coalesce and that a teacher’s career development may often be progressed most eVectively by pursuing activities that are relevant to the context in which they are working.” 54. This evidence led to the revised performance management system referenced earlier in this evidence.

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55. For teachers and headteachers to achieve professional objectives identiﬁed through the performance management process, they must have a meaningful entitlement to eVective CPD opportunities. 56. There is a need for a more eVective system-wide understanding about the nature and importance of eVective CPD. A key part of this work should be to challenge misconceptions that CPD is concerned primarily with teachers attending external courses. Whilst such provision may have a role to play, other forms of professional development, including practice-based opportunities centred at school level, have an important function in the provision of coherent and eVective CPD opportunities for teachers and headteachers. Some of the most eVective CPD is teachers sharing practice with other teachers while working with pupils. 57. The revised performance management arrangements also were designed to address the particular concerns in relation to the development and training of teachers in alternative provision and those in local authorities’ central services. Historically, in terms of CPD provision, the needs of these teachers have been badly served compared to their school based colleagues. They have been excluded to an unacceptable extent from access to appropriate development opportunities to support their career progression and enhance their ability to meet the needs of the pupils. 58. No consideration of CPD would be complete without reﬂecting upon the position of supply teachers. From September 2009 when teachers on the staV of a school will cover only rarely, high quality supply teachers will be in demand. Provision of CPD for supply teachers is at best poor, at worst non-existent. Schools fail to take responsibility for the development of supply teachers they engage, and supply agencies almost universally neglect the provision of appropriate training. A NASUWT survey of 2,000 supply teachers highlighted deep concerns about access to relevant training. February 2009

Witnesses: John Bangs, Assistant Secretary, National Union of Teachers, Tim Benson, Member, National Council, National Association of Head Teachers, Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary, Association of Teachers and Lecturers, Dr John Dunford OBE, General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders and Chris Keates, General Secretary, National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, gave evidence.

Q122 Chairman: Can I call this rather unruly class to John Bangs: It is absolutely worth doing. There is a order. If you had heard it from outside, you would line in the McKinsey report, which came out a year have recognised that sound of a class not being well ago, about the quality of the education system not supervised. In that hubbub I am afraid that I did not being able to exceed the quality of its teachers. We greet some of you. It is my normal practice to greet had a previous professional development strategy all the witnesses, so I apologise to those of you who from the Government in 2001–03 that drew good did not get a greeting, but there were too many support and went belly-up. It is now being people, which I hope shows what an interest there is reconstructed and we believe that if you want a in teacher training. You will all know, because I am world-class system, you should concentrate on sure that you have been watching our progress, that teachers. we have looked at testing and assessment, and Dr Bousted: I trained teachers for 14 years in three published our report on the National Curriculum. schools of education. During that time I would say We are going to open up a new way of asking the that the quality of training improved greatly— consumer what they think of our reports. Before the beyond all recognition. I think that we have a highly summer, we hope to have a large session in which the eVective system of initial teacher training, and people who gave evidence and people who are Ofsted has conﬁrmed that the present generation of interested, will come in and discuss what they think teachers are the best trained ever. Does it face of our report on the National Curriculum. I thought continuing challenges and will it face challenges in that that would push the envelope a bit and give meeting the needs of a changing environment? In people a chance to bite back. Is that all right? It is an other words, what do teachers need to know to innovation. Let us get on with it. This will be a educate children and young people? Does that punchy session because we only have an hour for the knowledge need to change as the context changes? two sessions. I am going to ask my team to ask quick, Yes, it does. I think that it is absolutely the right time penetrating questions and ask you to give sharp to look at initial teacher training. answers. I am not going to ask you to give your CVs Dr Dunford: I am delighted that you are looking at but I will ask one general question, starting with this, but it would be wrong if you concentrated John Bangs. We are looking at teacher training, wholly on the training of teachers because, looked at which we have not done before—certainly not under from the school end of the telescope, it is now about my chairmanship. When we had what I call my staV development, and staV in schools now means “navigational seminar” a lot of you suggested that more than simply teachers. When you are planning we could add value, which is what the Committee your professional development programme, you are tries to do. Is it worth doing? Is there a challenge in thinking about the development of all of your staV, or a problem with teacher education, or is everything not simply the teachers. I think you should bear that all right and it just needs titivating at the corners? in mind when you are doing this inquiry. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates

Chris Keates: The inquiry is critical. We are very Teaching Council has a great interest in this, if they pleased that the Committee is looking at this issue. fail their induction because they have not been We think it needs to be conducted in the context of getting the mentoring time they deserve. looking at a remodelled work force and what the Chris Keates: If I can add to that, NASUWT has needs are of the school work force and the education been doing a five-year longitudinal study into newly team. There are some major challenges in this qualified teachers. We are just about to publish the inquiry in terms of entitlement, accessibility, quality, final report which we have to share with the equality, management and strategic capacity Committee. We have also been tracking newly building. We think it is a very challenging but qualified teachers for the past two years from prior worthwhile topic. to starting a job right through their first year. A Chairman: Welcome, Tim Benson, as you are not one number of key issues have emerged. One that John of our regulars. has already mentioned is their not getting statutory Tim Benson: I am not one of your regulars. I am a entitlements in some schools, particularly that serving head teacher and work every day in a school release time for reflection and working with their in East Ham. Thank you for inviting me. Following mentors. There are real issues about some having to on from John’s comments about the worth of the do their induction through supply work because project and its relevance to what is going on in they cannot get either a permanent placement or a schools. One of the things I have noticed—and temporary placement for the year. So we are very certainly our members are reporting to us—is that interested in—and have raised with Ministers—the heads and senior staV are making up a shortfall in situation in Scotland where there is a guaranteed the teacher training. Now we are teaching teachers placement during the first year of training. We have how to teach a lot of the time, instead of teaching also got evidence of NQTs being asked to take on children. There is the issue of taking good teachers whole-school responsibilities at a time when they are out of the classroom, particularly in areas of urban trying to get a quality support experience in their deprivation such as where my school is. I have to first year. We feel that the statutory provisions and take my best teachers out of the classroom to help the balance are correct, but actually ensuring that them train the teachers who are coming into school. NQTs get that entitlement is critically important. My last point, in summary, is that teachers need There are also issues emerging that the further the personalised learning as much as the students do. NQT gets away from their training, the more they When we are looking at teacher training, we must raise the issue of whether their training has actually look at a personalised approach. equipped them to start teaching, particularly in Chairman: Tim, looking at your background, your terms of special educational needs, behaviour school is a primary and has 900 students. management and working with parents. Tim Benson: Yes. It is one of the largest in the country. Q124 Derek Twigg: Do you have any idea how many Chairman: That is mind bogglingly large for a teachers are aVected? primary school. John Bangs: Yes, I have some figures on that. Our Tim Benson: Yes. research shows that 15% of NQTs were not receiving Chairman: We will have a private conversation their entitlement to a reduced teaching timetable, about that at another time. Let us get on with the and that 21% were not receiving their entitlement to V questions. I shall ask Derek to kick o . planning, preparation and assessment time, which is additional to the reduced timetable, so it looks like some schools are trying to conflate both PPA and the Q123 Derek Twigg: The induction year for newly qualified teachers has generally broad support induction time, which I think is actually illegal. although there have been criticisms. Would you like to say a bit more about that, particularly if the Q125 Derek Twigg: Moving on to performance framework itself has been a problem? management arrangements, what are your views on Chairman: I will not call all of you for each question, how they have been received by teachers? so indicate early and then I will prefer the person Chris Keates: When we have gone up and down the who did not give an answer on a previous question. country presenting the changes and the more John Bangs: Yes, there have been problems. It transparency and clarity around the revised started oV well with 90% teaching time and 10% performance arrangements, teachers have actually entitlement to mentoring time. But our survey and very much welcomed them, particularly the link all the information that we have is that there is a between performance management and training and significant minority of newly qualified teachers who development needs. I think that the issue now is are not receiving their induction time and the new whether those expectations of performance flexibility in the statutory guidance is actually management are actually being delivered in schools, working against teachers. It looks as if some schools which is why we want the TDA and DCSF to do are being tempted to say to their newly qualified some more research on it.Anecdotally, the provision teachers, “You can block the time at a time that is is quite patchy, particularly about performance convenient for us,” rather than having a weekly management meeting the aspirations of genuine, regular bit of quality time with their mentors. There professional dialogue, and also in terms of teachers is an issue there. I do think it is worth examining. I feeling that their training development needs are think newly qualified teachers have a right to appeal actually being met. This is the first time through if they fail their induction. Obviously, the General performance management that there has been a Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates consistent and coherent vehicle through which those integral to the job. There is all sorts of fascinating needs can be examined, so there is more work to be evidence on collaborative CPD, such as examples of done to see if it is meeting those aspirations. teachers working together, of peer tutoring and of a Dr Bousted: I think that performance management very living relationship with the local authority, such is probably being done in most schools, but we need as with research networks and networks for sharing much more information about what is being done good practice. Everything springs from that and its quality. I think that the issue is that it is approach. At the moment we do not have a high- actually a very hard thing to do correctly and well. If profile vision for it. It is a tribute to David Blunkett you are going to have good performance that the document he launched in 2001 did have that management, the deal for teachers is quite clear. vision. We still do not yet have a concept—I think There is a performance management process that that this is what Mary was saying—of empowering has stages throughout the year and you receive your CPD so that teachers own it themselves. The only targets, objectives and what they will look like in way you can learn is if you do not feel under threat terms of the evidence that is used in order to judge and you do not feel that you have to protect yourself whether you have met them. But crucially there is the in a performance management interview because continuing professional development provision of you know that that interview and that review will support, development and training to go alongside have high-stakes consequences for your future and that. We did surveys on it last year and the year your salary. The only way you can actually learn is before, and our members’ feedback stated that CPD that you trust the people you are working with to provision is still not targeted to individual need and acknowledge your weaknesses as well as your is still far too much one-size-fits-all—in that respect, strengths. We are looking in the next year for the new I think that the national strategies have been entirely professional development strategy to have that unhelpful. Moreover, if you want CPD in particular vision percolating among schools. I have to say that areas based around subject training and further I get tired of local authorities going on about a lack development in subject knowledge, it is very hard to of capacity, because the capacity is the staV they get, yet many teachers say that it is exactly what they employ and the staV in their authority. I see a critical want. I do not want to be wedded to a notion of CPD role for local authorities brokering networks of that is just about going on courses, which is what lots schools and teachers working with each other. of teachers are still doing. The ATL’s position is that Dr Dunford: It is a cultural issue, and in many much CPD can be done in and between schools and schools there is a culture in which teachers do take that there is an awful lot for the profession to learn ownership of their own professional development, in from communities of practice, but I would say also which performance management is seen as being that that approach is not well developed. If there is 20% judgmental and 80% developmental and in one area that has really suVered in the past 25 to 30 which the climate and culture of the school is such years and that still needs to be radically looked at that professional development is seen as a shared, and needs real help to get it better, it is the whole area collaborative exercise. It is perhaps collaborative of CPD where most teachers say that they do not get between teachers in the same school, and perhaps the CPD that they want and that it is not targeted to between teachers in neighbouring schools. The need, is not individualised and is just not good whole notion of “going on a course”, as we used to enough. say, has become much more part of a continuous Tim Benson: Without a doubt, it is a developing cycle of school improvement, and not a series of one- model, and head teachers would agree with that. oV developments. Schools in which that culture There is also an issue about the needs of the exists have the internal strength to resist the top- individuals and the needs of the institution, which down prescription of the national strategies, for you might want to explore later. example, in which teachers, for 22 years or so, have looked upwards to the national strategies, the QCA, the Government, the National Curriculum, or Q126 Derek Twigg: On CPD, how much of that have whatever it is, to be told what to do. I believe that the teachers taken on board in terms of taking climate has changed, particularly in the last two or responsibility, for example, by covering for three years, and it is now much more encouraging to colleagues who are attending courses or engaging in those schools that really do want to take control of peer learning? We hear about the problems and their own professional development. diYculties, but to what extent have teachers been engaged in taking responsibility for that development? Q127 Chairman: Tim, in your school, do teachers John Bangs: It is worth exploring where we are in cover for other teachers? terms of contractual obligation. There is a current Tim Benson: We tend to buy in agency staV to cover, contractual obligation in the document on school rather than asking our own teachers. That was the teachers’ pay and conditions for all teachers to take point I was going to raise. There is a particular issue part in arrangements for training. We would have a with very young children of four or five years old. very real problem with a contractual obligation to Can you imagine if your child’s teacher has an NQT take responsibility for CPD. All the evidence we half-day, a PPA half-day and is out on a course one have suggests that, where head teachers and the day a week? That means two days a week, leadership group have internalised the importance of potentially, that they are not with that group of CPD for teachers, you then have the structure in children, who actually need regular contact with place that says that CPD is not a bolt-on, but is their own teacher. There is an issue there that needs Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 122 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates to be sorted out, but there is certainly a growing Dr Bousted: First, it is not needed, because the professionalism among teachers in wanting to do system we have in place says what the objectives are further study and work, and it is to be welcomed. and what CPD, support, development and training is needed. Secondly, such a system would be extremely expensive, diYcult to administer and Q128 Chairman: Is there a real problem, Chris, that diYcult to agree on. With CPD not being evenly if teachers will not cover for teachers, it curbs the supplied, and with the right sorts of CPD not always accessibility of CPD courses? available—this is a long-term problem—you cannot Chris Keates: No, I do not think that is the case. I impose a requirement on the profession without its think that with the changes to pay and conditions, having the means to meet it, obviously. particularly now with the rarely cover measure Chris Keates: I support Mary from the point of view coming in from 2009, there is a real opportunity to that if performance management is working look at robust systems that take into account CPD properly and if teachers are teaching regularly, there needs. It is about, as John said, changing culture in should be no need for active registration. I think schools—CPD is now seen as important. There is an understanding of what constitutes CPD and it is not there is possibly a case for active registration for about releasing people to go on training courses, people who have been in the pool of inactive teachers which is important. Our experience is that teachers or teachers who have not been teaching regularly will take responsibility for CPD if they feel it is and do not have up-to-date experience. There could relevant to their needs and also of high quality.There be a process to ensure that they are upskilled a bit is an issue about the quality of CPD. We have been like there is for nurses. When nursing administrators running a number of conferences for teachers from who have not been working on wards or actively under-represented groups, particularly our black engaged in nursing for ﬁve years, they have to take and minority ethnic members. The constant theme is a refresher to maintain their registration, but we do that they want professional development and career not see the need for such an approach for teachers progression but, for one reason or another, they are who are working daily in classrooms because they being denied access to it in schools. I also think that are subject to rigorous performance management we should be highlighting the value of the informal and all the other monitoring that takes place in CPD, meaning teachers learning from each other schools. and sharing experiences. We have raised with Ministers some of the concerns raised when our NQTs feed back to us. The accountability Q131 Fiona Mactaggart: I am one of those teachers. framework in which schools operate makes Tomorrow, I could teach in a classroom, although I everything high stakes and high tension. NQTs say have not taught in a classroom for about 14 years. I that they feel very reluctant to share with other was a bit anxious about what Mary said, because I colleagues some of the issues that they are facing in do not think that I should be let loose in a classroom the classroom in professional discussions, because at length. I am sure that I could happily perform and that may count against them because it might mean teach some children for a day, but I do not think that that they are saying that they are not performing as I could ensure that a year 6 class—the group that I they should in the classroom. There is a real issue used to teach—got to the standard that Tim would about changing the culture and context. want at his school in a year with the present curriculum. It concerns me that we do not have a structure to ensure that registered teachers keep their Q129 Derek Twigg: A number of high-status skills up to date. professions have a registration system in which Chris Keates: That is the point that I was making. people have to complete a certain amount of There is a diVerence between those who are in continued development to remain registered. Is there schools teaching on a regular basis and subject to a case for active registration for teachers? performance management, and what we do about Dr Bousted: No, certainly not at the moment. The returners to the profession. only way you could have active registration is if there Dr Bousted: I had not considered registration with a is an active CPD to go with it. If the quality is so view to people being away. Local authorities run uneven—which it is—and it is diYcult for teachers return-to-teaching courses to get people back up to to get the CPD that they want and need, you cannot speed on the latest developments and things like make a requirement on them. Also, the issue with the that. It is not as though that is not there, although new performance management regulations is that it there is no requirement for it to be done. That point is meant to be built into the process. The objectives of view is quite interesting. are set, and the support, development and training Dr Dunford: It is also very much in the interests of that the teacher will receive to meet them is also the person returning. As a head teacher, I can meant to be decided—it is meant to be integral to remember people returning to teaching in similar the process. circumstances to yours, Ms Mactaggart. Children were thoroughly diVerent from the children they Q130 Derek Twigg: Are you saying that you are not were accustomed to; not only had the National opposed in principle but that you are opposed to the Curriculum changed, society had changed, and the fact that, at the moment, the system does not children had changed and were not as biddable as support it? they used to be. Those people had a real struggle, Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 123

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates and it would have been in their real interests to have that is the only professional development that they done some kind of course or an intensive mentoring get. Classroom organisation, pupil behaviour—no and coaching programme as they came back into the one else is supplying it for them. profession. Dr Dunford: There is a considerable measure of agreement with what John has just said.

Q132 Chairman: What about supply teachers? There is a large number of them and research shows that Q133 Mr Chaytor: I want to pursue the active registration issue a bit further, because there is a many supply teachers just do not keep up with CPD. reasonable consensus that the current arrangements The figures show that 40,000 people do supply for CPD are not entirely perfect and are pretty teaching at some point in a year and that 66% of fragmented. But surely if there were a commitment supply teachers have not undertaken any to introduce compulsory active registration, that professional development activity in the previous would be the biggest incentive to improve the quality 12 months. of CPD. I am looking at Mary, because she Chris Keates: That is a critical element of your dismissed the active registration argument. inquiry, particularly from the point of view that, Dr Bousted: You can create a structure and the from September 2009, supply teachers will be means, but not get the ends. There is a problem with critically important in supporting schools to CPD. The reason why initial teacher training is of implement cover for longer term absences. We the standard it is—it is not perfect, but I think it is recently did a survey of 2,000 supply teachers and good—is that it is heavily centrally driven. I am one of their biggest concerns was the lack of access speaking against myself all the time here, but it is to CPD. There are immense challenges. Supply heavily inspected by Ofsted, there are professional teachers are quite a disparate group. Some are standards that it has to meet, and it is critically retired teachers going back to do supply work; some important as a gateway to the profession. The reason are career supply teachers. Returners or those why CPD is more diYcult—it is like knitting with wanting to obtain a permanent appointment are spaghetti—is that there are thousands of providers. doing supply and, pending that time, their needs and It would be very diYcult and hugely costly to aspirations can be very diVerent. We would all agree evaluate the quality of those thousands of providers. that they need access to up-to-date, high-quality I would be against that number of providers having professional development. There are two sources for to be registered because then you are going towards that: one is the schools in which they are placed. centralisation and one size fits all. While we are in a That might be diYcult in terms of length of system in which schools have given too little time, placement, although there now will be longer term money, and development to conceptualising CPD placements. The other is the lack of regulation of the within a framework, it is diYcult to say how active agencies. In many cases, they take no responsibility registration would work. The Training and for professional development in the same way as Development Agency for Schools did some seminal they actually do not abide by many of the provisions work on CPD about five years ago. While I think the of the school teachers’ pay and conditions document situation might be better as a result of performance in respect of payment. Some real challenges need to management, I still think there are real problems be addressed. with the supply side. Also, the real problem with John Bangs: There needs to be a reconceptualisation schools evaluating CPD and what impact it has had of what supply teachers are. Supply teachers ought for both the individual and the system is that it is to be the best, most qualified, most experienced very poor. Would active registration make that teachers in the system. At the moment, they are better? I don’t know. considered to be the afterthought, and trailing behind them is a set of received wisdom and You have made the case for the perceptions that somehow they are the worst Q134 Mr Chaytor: improvements in ITT being due to stronger central teachers in the system because they are supply control, greater co-ordination, active inspection. teachers. Nothing should be further from the truth. The logic of that is that the same principle should You should be recognised within the system as being apply to CPD through active registration. Should the most experienced teacher because you can take the Training and Development Agency for Schools anything that the school throws at you. Whether it take the lead on that? is a long-term or a short-term cover or whether you Dr Bousted: It is so hard to do. There is so much of move from primary to secondary, you should be the it and it is so big. How many newly qualified teachers best teacher in the system. I am very familiar with the would it train each year? It would be far less than the school work force agreement, even though the number of CPD opportunities and programmes National Union of Teachers is not in the social available to more than 400,000 serving teachers. I partnership. That particular sector of the work force am trying to think of the logistics of doing it. It seems agreement is underdeveloped. What we need is that it would be extremely diYcult to do. clusters of schools employing supply teachers. We need a development system. I know, and our professional development programme caters for Q135Chairman: Why don’t we just trust teachers this, that our supply teacher courses are the most with their colleagues to choose good quality ones popular, and our supply teacher members tell us that that suit them? Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 124 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates

Dr Bousted: The TDA is doing a lot of work in this general, for example. In Wales, teachers have a huge area. It has a website where teachers can see what range of entitlements that they do not have in courses are available and where other teachers can England, including bursaries and a concept that you say what the quality is. I think that an awful lot of are entitled to professional development. That work is being done to help teachers identify good means something. As colleagues have said, when sources of CPD of good quality. I just cannot see you have your professional development discussion how it would work in practice. in your performance management review, that Dr Dunford: I hope that the Committee’s report will means that something is going to be delivered. Just help in the process of re-professionalising a teaching to engineer new registration without any of those profession that has been quite seriously de- things in the system—without the kind of culture professionalised with all the top-down regulation shift or reconceptualisation which recognises, as the that has happened over the past 20 years, McKinsey report said, that the system is not going to particularly in relation to curriculum and be any better than its teachers—actually will, as I assessment. It seems to me that an important part of say, feel like another damn thing. that re-professionalisation could well be thinking about the benefits of an active registration On the James report, my programme. After all, we expect our doctors to be up Q136 Mr Chaytor: recollection was that it led pretty directly to the to date when they treat us. I do not see why the elimination of a load of providers who were not up public should not have an expectation that teachers to the mark. are up to date when they teach their children. John Bangs: I am absolutely in favour of that, Chris Keates: It is important that we look at it from absolutely. the point of view of the teacher who is regularly teaching, because that is the key. There is a case to be discussed about people who are returning to the Q137 Mr Chaytor: What I am trying to get across is profession, but they have the professional standards this: is there not a contradiction between your now, and they have performance management, continuous calls to improve the status of the which should be bringing about culture change, they profession and your resistance to a suggestion that have school improvement partners—SIPs—coming could do more than anything else to raise the status into schools, Link advisers, National Challenge of the profession by putting the same requirements advisers and Ofsted. If we are not careful, putting in on teachers as on lawyers, doctors, or dentists? John active registration—because there is a deficiency we stole my question, because I was going to make the have all acknowledged in access to professional analogy with GPs. If I go to the GP or the dentist, I development—looks like penalising the teachers for want to make sure that the person looking after me the failure in the system. What we have got to do is has been appropriately updated according to a change the culture, making sure that relevant national scheme. professional development through performance John Bangs: I am not resistant to the idea, but it has management is given critical importance. By all got to be part of a package and the package has to means, explore active registration for people who are be the reconceptualisation of the teaching profession returning to teaching and have not taught for a that genuinely makes CPD an entitlement in the while. That, of course, might include some people in order of the things that I described. James was schools who are advising on leading, managing, absolutely right to talk about that. One of the good teaching and learning, but do not actively teach things we have seen is the development of the TDA’s themselves. CPD database, which is very important. We have no John Bangs: I think that it is the tail wagging the dog. problem with our professional development Active registration looks like one of those centrally programme being on that database, because we are imposed engineering devices that will feel to very proud of it and we believe quality assurance teachers—and Chris has outlined a whole list could address many of its aspects. We are up for that. there—like another damn thing. What we do need is Dr Bousted: I am seeing lots of parallels with the a reconceptualisation of the profession in the 21st requirement on further education lecturers to do 30 century; we need something as visionary as that. We hours training and development. People are need, for example, a level of vision that was last desperately scratching around—art teachers are reached in the James report in 1972. That had an going to visit art galleries and putting that down. echo, incidentally, in the professional development The problem is that you create a requirement, which strategy issued by the Government in 2001 and also is not matched by provision. If you do that, you in Teachers meeting the challenge of change. You immediately devalue the requirements—it becomes have a perception and conception of professional another damn thing yet to do, as John said. I do development that meets the system’s needs, the think, having thought about it and not having schools’ needs and, equally, teachers’ needs. If you thought about it before, that training requirements are going to move from that then you have to have for people coming back to teaching after some all sorts of things in place, including the entitlement period away have merit. I could be persuaded on to professional development once every seven years, that. Teachers have quite enough flea bites on all which is what James argued for, so that one term is sorts of registration issues and on being boxed into available to you to research best practice and how professional practice in a certain way—the “That’s you can actually move forward teaching and the way to do it” mentality—and they do not need learning in your own school, or in the system in any more of it at the moment. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 125

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates

Chairman: An interesting mental picture came to Chris Keates: We can get distracted with the issue of mind there of teachers with ﬂeas. active registration. What we want is to make sure that people have access to the training that will mean that they are meeting current needs in the day-to-day Q138 Mr Chaytor: I am checking the information that we have here. If you are a dentist, you have to realities in the classroom. What is missing from the do roughly 50 hours a year to keep up to date. If you system is coherence, in terms of the number of are a nurse, you have to do 35 hours every three providers we have got. I slightly disagree with John years. I cannot understand why you are resisting on the TDA database, which I think does not go far something that would enhance the status of the enough. At the moment what we have is basically a profession. Yellow Pages of providers. It has got a voluntary Dr Bousted: If you are a teacher, you have got your Quality Mark, which people go into, but there is no performance management reviews, you have got monitoring and no teeth to that. What schools want your CPD, you have got your strategies—teachers to know is that they are able to access that. There is have been jumped through hoops more than anyone also an issue nationally about the NDPBs dealing else. John is absolutely right, we need a new with CPD, and the number that have ﬁngers in those conceptualisation of professionalism—we need pies. Is there some rationalisation there? There is choice, better routes and better CPD. I have to come also the question of the strategic management of back to you—I know you are not going to agree with CPD and whether that can be left to 23,000 me, but I do not agree with you—I do not think individual institutions, and whether we have to use registration will do it. the structures put together for collaboration to get CPD as part of that.

Q139 Mr Chaytor: Should there not be some greater coherence? Let us leave aside active registration. Is Q140 Mr Chaytor: Is there a case for extending the there not a case for greater coherence? You have reach of Ofsted to the TDA database? described already the huge fragmentation of the Chris Keates: I am not sure that there is a rationale system, with enormous variability and some schools for extending the reach of Ofsted to anything, let or groups of schools doing it better than others. Is alone the database— there not a case for moving forward, so that there are certain modules and certain training courses that are Q141 Mr Chaytor: There is a case for grading the required year on year? providers or the courses on the TDA database. Tim Benson: There is certainly room for Dr Bousted: There are too many of them. encouragement and room to move on that. I take Chris Keates: It would be impossible. you back to my earlier comment, right at the Dr Bousted: You can grade award-bearing CPD, beginning, when I said that what teachers need in but— terms of CPD is to have their own personal needs Mr Chaytor: There are 3,000 secondary schools and met, which can balance and synch in with the needs 20-odd thousand primary schools— of the institution. That is very hard to provide. Dr Bousted: Far be it from me to want to do Ofsted, Because it is an individualised, personalised but there might be a case for an Ofsted anonymous programme that the best CPD will deliver to the best sample survey looking at the quality of CPD in individuals, you cannot do that in an organisational schools and at broad themes of how schools can structure. You cannot send someone away with 20 develop good CPD. But the thought of Ofsted other people that they have never met before and extending its reach any further than it does, fills me expect to deliver the same sort of personalised with horror. development. The best CPD would be done in John Bangs: Yes. My argument is that you want to schools. If Fiona came to my school and wanted a remove death by PowerPoint from CPD. I only job, I would say, “Come on a voluntary basis, sit in mentioned the TDA database; following on from with some of the other teachers—develop your what Chris was saying, it is a tender plant that needs confidence a little bit before we even think about you nurturing. Between 2001 and 2003, the Department going back.” That is the sort of approach that I for Education and Skills—as it was at the time—put would take. As a head teacher, I would not dream of together a consensual code of practice, which had taking into my school someone who had not been in been rigorously gone through, about the quality of a classroom for 15 years, unless they could prove to CPD. Those who used CPD and those who provided me that they were going to take all sorts of informal CPD were trusted to follow that code of practice. I voluntary steps to get there first. I would help them think that the idea of Ofsted inspecting CPD would and provide that forum. be the death of positive, bottom-up CPD. I want to Chairman: Wise words, Tim. Fiona is ready to do it say something though about what Tim said, about in any way she can. the nature of good, high-quality CPD. We put Chris Keates: I want to come back to David on his £70,000 into the initial EPI review of what made point about consistency and coherence. That is what good CPD and what linked to very good outcomes. is missing from the system. What you described with That is the holy grail: can you see outcomes as a the dentists and the nurses and so on was an result of CPD? What we found was that entitlement to a certain amount of CPD. collaborative CPD, which was both school-based Mr Chaytor: It is actually a legal requirement to and had high-quality external input, was likely to assure the consumer that they are being treated deliver the best possible outcomes. I get tired of properly. hearing a post-hoc rationale that says, “The best Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 126 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates

CPD takes place in schools, really because we cannot professionalism of teachers, I think the MTL, if well aVord to let people out.” That is not the case. CPD designed, is bound to do so. I am not at all sure that with good practice, that is based in schools and tries it is right to target it at newly qualiﬁed teachers. I out new ideas with external input, is the best form think the age at which people do it and the length of of CPD. experience with which they do it should be much Chairman: I like “death by PowerPoint”. I take more variable than that. your point.

Q142 Mr Chaytor: Following John’s point, is that an Q146 Mr Chaytor: Can I clarify a point regarding argument for or against the masters in teaching and the pilot schemes, of which there are two from this learning? September? John Bangs: That is a very good question. I think Dr Dunford: One is devoted to NQTs and one to that there should be a masters in teaching and people in national challenge schools. I do not think learning—unequivocally. But, what we do not that is the right way to start it, but that is the way we want—I know that the Chair will jump up at this are going to start it and in the end, a few years down point—is to simply cherry-pick one from Finland the line, I hope very much that we will have a valued and drop it into this country. What we do need is an qualification. understanding; this is where we have some very real Chris Keates: I want to make two quick points. First, problems with aspects of the MTL, although we on the evaluation of the quality of CPD providers, I support it. I think that the MTL should be given to V did as you said, Barry, and gave a public evaluation experienced teachers as an entitlement, with time o of one provider. It threatened to take me to court. during the school day to explore some of the MTL There is a real issue of providers charging issues and modules, rather than to newly qualified extortionate amounts of money for things that teachers. I am worried about NQTs taking up the people could have got from the local authority of MTL, simply because of the pressures of being an better quality and at no cost. Getting value for NQT. Conceptually, the MTL should be seen as a voluntary entitlement and part of a range of CPD— public money is critical. Once schools have spent not as the only thing on oVer. quite enormous amounts of money for some of these Dr Dunford: On the previous question, I think that training courses, they can then find that they were no it is important to have a degree of quality assurance good. We have to consider that. for CPD, and systems could be put in place to give people that assurance, so that teachers who are buying in to CPD— Q147 Chairman: But Chris, could the money just go straight to the teachers? Give them the money for CPD and let them spend it as they will. Q143 Chairman: None of our Conservative Members could make it today, but if one of them Chris Keates: There is some experience of that. It is were here they would immediately say that surely not quite the same thing in Wales. John mentioned your highly qualified teachers should be treated as bursaries being given to teachers there. In practice, adults, and with their heads and colleagues be able that is not working out as well as expected. As with to choose their CPD. It is like training someone to go everything, there are finite amounts of money. There to the supermarket, with its range of very confusing is a balance to be struck, including people having the products. Everyone must come back to the schools access to meet their needs. I’m not sure that teachers and say, “I went on that course and it was rubbish. necessarily want money in hand to spend. What they All it was was PowerPoint presentations all day.” want to know is that they have the entitlement and Dr Dunford: We would like to be able to choose access. That is the critical thing. I want to come back between diVerent but good CPD providers, and you to MTL. We have an opportunity here to try to get cannot find that out for yourself. You need a system this right. MTL is important, but it is important that of quality assurance. it is done for the right reasons. It should not be done in the context of implying that qualified teacher status is not a high standard qualification, because it Q144 Chairman: I thought that the market would is. I think MTL and developing practice are making find it out because people— sure it has currency externally, that there is good Dr Dunford: Yes, but the market has to be guided equality of access and high quality support. I do into how it might evaluate, how it might find out think we have an opportunity to develop something which is good and which is— very worthwhile. I disagree with the idea that you cannot have this for NQTs. What is being considered Q145 Chairman: Why don’t the unions do at the moment is practice-based MTL that allows something about it? You could share. You could do people to develop with the work they are actually a Which? kind of thing—write in to our website and doing in the classroom over quite a lengthy period. let us judge whether it was a bad CPD experience. What we have to do is make sure we have got it right Dr Dunford: Or the TDA could do that. Could I just and not rush it. We will have condemned MTL never come back to the MTL which you questioned us to having the currency it needs if it is rushed, not about. Regarding the crucial question of whether it right and does not have any credibility across the does or does not do something for the profession or externally. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 127

27 April 2009 John Bangs, Tim Benson, Dr Mary Bousted, Dr John Dunford OBE and Chris Keates

Chairman: That sounds like what everyone said hallmarks of quality applied. There is an argument about diplomas. for an evaluation system, but the profession has to buy into that. Q148 Mr Chaytor: Isn’t the whole area of CPD for teachers crying out for a credit accumulation and Q149 Chairman: I have one last question on the transfer scheme that would gradually build up into masters qualification. Two things are needed to a serious masters-level qualification, be it the MTL refresh a teacher. Their knowledge of the core subject or other forms of masters degrees? needs to be refreshed because it moves on. The level John Bangs: There is potential with the GTCE of knowledge in science subjects and much else Teacher Learning Academy. I think there is also changes. Teaching methods also need to be potential with the MTL but I also think—we have refreshed. Is the MTL, as structured and proposed, been working through our CPD programme with good at both of those? Cumbria and Cambridge University—that there are Dr Bousted: It has three stages and it definitely has flexible modules where teachers, in control and in the potential for that. There is a delay in it now, so charge of their learning but subjected to the rigour the first cohort will not start until the summer term of critical analysis from university lecturers, for of 2010. There is a real chance to get that properly example, are doing some fantastic work and are planned and developed. It is a pilot in the north-west getting accreditation. However, accreditation is not and a pilot in the national challenge schools, so always a prime motivation for attending a CPD students will have a chance to learn from it and see course. It is actually solving a problem or being able what a good course looks like. We still have to work to share and get some new ideas with colleagues. through what a practice-based masters in teaching Accreditation is the consequence of that. David, would look like and what it would mean, but it is your very good question about whether there should something that we have to make work. I am much be common modules was not answered. I think that happier with a practice-based masters than I am with there should be. On classroom organisation and registration. pupil behaviour, common modules should be an Chairman: Thank you very much for your entitlement right the way through. Our members, attendance. That was a good shot. Sorry for the whatever age and with whatever experience, value brevity, but it just happens to be the Budget debate that programme. We have hallmarks of quality on today, so we are squeezed. Can I have the next set of our CPD programme. We are not afraid of having witnesses.

Memorandum submitted by the OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) OCR Comments for Submission to the Select Committee on: — whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent.

OCR’s Training Provision 1. OCR Training, and its sister Mill Wharf Training, oVers a raft of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for new, experienced and head teachers that we believe supports and enhances their practice in schools and colleges. Our training programme oVers over 1,500 training events and sees us reach approximately 25,000 teachers each year. The CPD provided is delivered by a high calibre mixture of; educational specialists, existing practitioners, current examiners and OCR staV members. The training relates to the experience a teacher has in delivering specific qualifications or in performing at specific levels within a school or college eg Head of Department, Senior Manager. The vast majority of training is delivered oVsite as one day events. 2. OCR Training supports all OCR qualifications by providing practical training that explicitly relates to the delivery of specifications (syllabuses). From concept to delivery, all OCR Training events are designed and delivered with practical application in the classroom in mind: — “Get Started” training events equip NQTs, or experienced practitioners who have not delivered the qualification before, with all the essential information required to deliver the qualification successfully. — “Get Ahead” training events are designed for experienced teachers of the qualification and provide opportunities to assess the marking of examined units, as well as demonstrate standards for the assessment of coursework and externally assessed components. — “Lead the Way” courses are designed for experienced teachers to help identify and encourage innovative practice in the delivery of a qualification or a specific unit of a qualification. By categorising our courses in this way we are able to target the level of information delivered at the events to the level of knowledge required by the delegates. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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3. In addition to qualification specific training, under the banner of Mill Wharf Training, OCR supports all levels of teachers with more generic CPD courses. This encompasses a wide variety of training including both curriculum based training and specific training designed for Senior Managers, NQTs, experienced teachers and Heads of Department. 4. The training is developed and delivered by educational specialists who are experts in their fields. It seeks to enable teachers to take practical skills on delivering course content, managing colleagues and pupils and personal development techniques back to their schools. Areas covered include; implementing eVective teaching and learning strategies, developing middle management skills, introducing cross curriculum activities, dealing with disruptive behaviour and raising achievement in the classroom. 5. Mill Wharf Training also provides consultations to schools and delivers training tailored to the needs identified. A variety of solutions can be oVered starting from a one oV event to a bespoke CPD programme devised for the whole school staV. This is a growing area of our provision, as schools seek to take advantage of both the budgetary benefits these type of programmes oVer and also the joined up approach to CPD this method of delivery aVords. 6. As well as the methods of delivering CPD familiar to any teacher (such as one day training events), OCR also delivers numerous events that provide information advice and guidance for centre staV in more innovative ways. These range from facilitated network events where OCR staV members facilitate discussions around topics identified by local network groups, through OCR delivered regional events where set subject areas are covered, to full blown “Expo” style conferences which have attracted up to 750 delegates to one event. 7. We collect delegate feedback and carry out third party customer satisfaction surveys. Whilst these measurements allow us to improve our service to teachers with regards to the content and delivery of the events, they do not measure how eVective the skills learnt and techniques taught were when applied back at an individual teachers’ school. There are a variety of additional ways that the eVectiveness of training could be measured. Teachers could be required to populate a pre course and post course evaluation form asking what their development needs are and whether they had been met having attended the course. Electronic surveys could be devised to ask teachers to comment one month after a course had been attended, again measuring whether the skills taught on the course were able to be applied in the classroom and to what extent they were of value. 8. There may be scope for a more regulated approach to measuring the eVectiveness of CPD provision, with an agency such as Ofsted reviewing the value of specific training. OCR Inset courses are currently monitored by the Qualifications Curriculum Authority (QCA) but there are no oYcial measurements relating to improving teachers’ performance in the classroom.

The Training Landscape 9. One of the main obstacles to improving the eVectiveness of training for teachers is a disconnection that exists between the training oVered by third parties including LAs, DCSF funded agencies, consortia and individual schools. There is some evidence to suggest that the agencies will devise training programmes without consulting the relevant Awarding Bodies (ABs). Similarly, many schools will devise their programme of annual training without reference to support from ABs. We believe that ABs could add value here by providing invaluable support around the areas of concept, understanding and delivery of assessment. For example ABs have both the knowledge and expertise to oVer essential training providing a comprehensive understanding of the assessment process relating to controlled assessment and the move towards internal moderation as their staV are at the heart of the developments. 10. As well as awarding body specific training there are a number of diVerent funding streams that target specific educational developments within the sector; for example for the teaching of diplomas or functional skills. This training is often provided through Local Authority networks and specific training bodies such as LLUK, Nord Anglia and TDA and funded directly by the DCSF. On the whole our view is that this type of support is eVective, however there is scope for the training agencies to interact more closely with the ABs throughout the development and delivery of the relevant programmes. As developers of the qualifications, the ABs are uniquely placed to understand the training needs required for teachers—particularly in relation to delivering new qualifications. 11. All of the above training generally relates to a supply led rather than a demand driven model, with ABs, Local Authorities (LAs) and other training agencies developing programmes based on the perceived need of the teaching community, all be it directed by well researched briefs. However, there can sometimes be a research gap between the primary eVects of a changing curriculum and the secondary eVects with regards to training provision. An example of this is the consortia delivery model where there is a significant amount of training related to the administrative set up of a consortia, however secondary issues such as how to deal with behavioural and cultural diVerences between the various consortia members are not addressed. Often these issues are not recognised in the original research and therefore no adequate training provision is identified. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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Managing Training Effectively 12. As well as an improved approach to the design and delivery of training, our research indicates that many teachers find it diYcult to secure release from their teaching duties to attend training courses. There are two main obstacles that have been identified firstly the availability of colleagues within schools to cover their teaching sessions and secondly the cost for the school of bringing in a supply teacher for the day. The capacity for teachers to attend external training events needs to be agreed and resourced accordingly. It should not be dependent on subjective budgetary management, regional variation or individual viewpoint. These issues need to be addressed, and many schools and colleges do so successfully, making use of strategies such as “floating” teachers and dynamically planning their supply provision. 13. Whilst there is a requirement for teachers to undertake CPD annually, there are very few formal systems to ensure that teachers are able to genuinely tailor the training days that are available towards their own development. Many of the training days provided within schools deal with generic training issues eg health and safety, rather than personalised teacher development on an individual basis. They are often just a series of events with no real strategic overview. 14. Our booking patterns would indicate that the autumn term is the most popular, this is not surprising as much of our subject specific training is most eVective when undertaken at the beginning of the academic year as it enables teachers to prepare for the oncoming year. However, there is some evidence to suggest that the availability of funding for training can increase towards the end of a financial year, and it would be prudent to encourage schools and colleges to plan their training budgets on a more strategic basis.

Moving Forward on Training 15. We would like to see teachers being aVorded a number of external training events guaranteed to them on an annual basis. This would ensure that they were able to access training that wholly relates to their own personal needs. This should include training related to a specific qualification, or suite of qualifications, that they are expected to deliver. It should also include professional development days designed to enhance their current teaching strengths or improve in existing areas of weakness. In addition, training for succession planning could be provided. 16. The vast majority of spend is directed on subject focused training, especially if the training provided through large training organisations to support new initiatives is included where a significant amount of funding has been made available for training, such as to support the delivery of diplomas and the functional skills pilots. Given the number of new qualifications that the sector is currently wrestling with, this is perhaps understandable. We would suggest that there should be more focus put upon the needs of individual teachers throughout their career to develop their strengths and address their weaknesses, both within the classroom and as existing or potential managers and senior leaders within their schools. 17. Whilst there is a consensus that CPD is important to an individual’s and a schools’ overall improvement there is some disparity as to how teacher training is managed within each school or local authority with responsibilities sitting in several diVerent places., Sometimes it rests with a Head of Department, sometimes a Training Manager for the school or a local authority Training Manager. Each has their own viewpoint as how best to develop their staV utilising the funds available to them. There is no consistent approach. We would recommend that there should be a nationwide mechanism that enables teachers’ training needs to be identified, reviewed and addressed on an ongoing basis. Our research highlighted the following issues: Few teachers told us that they retained control over their own training opportunities. One told us that training opportunities depended on the Heads of Department (HoDs), and this resulted in large levels of subjectivity and personal preference. Some HoDs were keen to promote CPD, others focused upon curricular based courses. Some respondents noted that decisions were made in the upper echelons of school management, with deputy heads. This resulted in training opportunities having “alarmingly little to do with what the Heads of Department want”. Additionally with regards to the funding of CPD, our research found the following: — Funding is a key barrier to CPD attendance. Providing teacher supply cover is seen by schools as a considerable expense, and this limits CPD opportunities. — Courses are often held in London or other large cities – out of reach for many teachers as schools are not prepared to fund both cover and travel expenses. — Due to funding pressures, teachers are wary of attending courses that may not be relevant or applicable in the long term. Changing education policy and initiatives result in new “buzz words”, and some suggest that CPD often follows these buzz words, rather than concentrating on core skills. Clearly there is still some way to go to ensure that the lack of funding does not prevent teachers from receiving the CPD that they believe they require. 18. The development of longitudinal training programmes that both meet school’s needs and match teachers’ development requirements is something that would improve the eVectiveness of CPD within the sector. One way to achieve this would be to implement school audits to maximise training eYciency and eVectiveness which would produce a strategically designed training programme through a consultative Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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approach. This could be carried out by private training providers under contract, or centrally managed through the DCSF or one of its agencies, or in a hybrid model. However, it would be essential that ABs were involved, supporting the training required and addressing the delivery of speciﬁc qualiﬁcations and the use of assessment models. January 2009

Witnesses: Dr Jeanne Keay, Dean, School of Education, Roehampton University, Gerry O’KeeVe, Director, Customer Support Division, Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examination Board and Sarah Stephens, Director of Policy, General Teaching Council for England,1 gave evidence.

Chairman: I welcome Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry recommendations as to how we can actually improve O’KeeVe and Sarah Stephens. You will see from the on the induction in particular? last panel that we hurried through the session, but Sarah Stephens: I know that you addressed the we got some good information. Will Annette go whole area of mentoring in a session last week, but straight into the questioning. it seems to us that the status and support for mentoring in this profession—the contribution of peers to the professional formation of their Q150 Annette Brooke: Obviously, I will be picking up on a number of the issues that were raised with colleagues—are really not yet fully developed. For the last panel, but first, what information do schools the Teacher Learning Academy, for example, have at the moment to support induction and early mentoring is one of the key foci—it is the third most professional development of teachers who come popular focus—for teachers to take of their own straight out of training? In your view, do schools volition when they seek to improve their practice, so make eVective use of that information? that is an area in which teachers are seeking to build Dr Keay: It is the most problematic issue. What their capacity. The TDA has done some excellent schools get from initial teacher education is the work in developing mentoring standards regionally, graduates coming through into their school. They but there is still a lot more to be done in terms of bring with them their career entry and development capability building in the whole area of mentoring, on which induction relies so significantly. profile, which is a document that will inform the Gerry O’KeeVe: Obviously, our point is that at that intended professional development. However, that is key moment the teacher needs to begin engaging where the link ends. There is dislocation between with the whole menu of options that will serve them initial teacher education and induction. That has in the NQT period and beyond in relation to seeing been a long-standing issue. We have never cracked it. how they can perhaps influence their own school’s The career entry and development profile has been INSET programme, which is a statutory five days a changed. I hope that it helps to move it on, but it is year, and seeing whether they have the confidence, a really big issue and we need to do something more either via their mentor or alone, to feel that they can about linking initial teacher education with perhaps partly shape that. Also, I feel that they need induction and beyond. to be aware that there are other parts of that menu Sarah Stephens: We know from research that 60% of that they can begin to think about, such as the NQTs say that the development experience in the provision oVered by the local authority. As we have induction year is helpful or beneficial, so we also 2 heard before, the networks that may exist locally know that 40% do not find it so. There are therefore also oVer sustenance, and beyond that the national some weaknesses. We also know that there is quite a V programmes will help enrich and give them strong correlation between schools that o er an confidence and competence. I think that at that eVective platform of professional development and V moment they need to know that there is not only those that o er a strong induction experience, so one, but perhaps four, five or six diVerent kinds of some of the issues pertaining to the CPD in later training on which they should begin their journey, years are also relevant to teachers in their NQT year. and I think that part of our job at that moment is I think that Jeanne has made a well-founded point about communication so that they feel that they are about the link from initial training through to early in the driving seat, rather than letting things happen professional development and the bridge of to them. induction and issues of coherence. Research Dr Keay: We have to recognise that there are always conducted by Michael Totterdell and colleagues in going to be contextual issues for new teachers; they 2002 pointed to the particular importance of are always going to struggle initially because it is personalisation in the NQT year in actually tuning diVerent. However, I think that we could require the development programme for that year to the schools to engage in initial teacher education. The very specific needs of individuals, and it appears that best induction comes in schools that fully for a good minority of teachers that is not yet the understand initial teacher education and are case. involved in teacher training to a great extent. I think that if we could require engagement in initial teacher Q151 Annette Brooke: May I ask as a follow-up to education, formalise that requirement and, dare I that whether you have any specific say it, find some way of assessing that engagement, that would go a long way to solving a lot of 1 See Written evidence from the GTC(E): Ev 36 problems, not least the link between training and 2 See Ev 151 induction. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens

Q152 Annette Brooke: I shall move on. We have been children and young people’s experience and talking about the performance management achievements. It seems that we now need to move framework and how it can perhaps help to identify into a position where teachers are enabled to identify and deliver appropriate CPD, but I think that in the impact of their learning on their teaching, on your evidence, Gerry, you suggest that we need some their colleagues, on themselves and, fundamentally, form of nationwide mechanism to enable on the client-side outcomes, as they would say in identification and supply.Does more need to be done other professions. That means on the children and within the performance management framework in young people’s learning. The TDA’s database is a schools, or has it got to be done from outside? start, but we now need to move to a system where the Gerry O’KeeVe: As we heard earlier, the more that it generality of the profession is equipped to make that comes from and is owned by the teacher, the more evaluation. We know from Her Majesty’s Chief sustenance and longevity it is likely to have. Inspector’s annual report of this year and from the Complementing that is the role, nationally, to create Ofsted Logical Chain report of 2005, and going back such a climate for attractive options and such a good to the DfES 2001 strategy, which, again, John Bangs menu that the two come together very strongly. I referred to, that this has been an issue. The think we need to create the climate, so that there is evaluation of impact, the value for money, the more compliance to it but in a voluntary capacity. evaluation of value for money and the overall Dr Keay: In relation to the new performance conceptualisation of quality in teacher learning and management arrangements, I had a previous professional development have been issues going all meeting with the local authorities before I came here, that way back. Now we really need to move into that and took the opportunity to talk to them about this. space where we say, “Actually, we are going to deal Anecdotally, the whole system is being seen as very with this.” Fundamentally, we are going to have positive, and enshrined in a cycle that has been teachers who understand how to evaluate the impact useful for the teachers. Senior managers like it of their professional development. because of the framework. However, there is a Gerry O’KeeVe: Complementing that, the teachers variable level of engagement. I just thought that that we speak to welcome soft measures of this sort, might be useful to feed in. which is teachers helping other teachers with some sort of star system or what have you. As long as the Y Q153 Annette Brooke: I am going to move on and soundings are su ciently wide across all the talk about the TDA’s role in this, which, we have just providers, rather than simply the TDA, Ofsted or heard, maintains a database. It seemed to be other people, taking wide soundings to come up with regarded as a good thing in the last session, but the some kind of more formal grading would be a move question is, should we have some stars by some of in the right direction, but it would take time for the these to indicate the quality? Should there be some buy-in to be there. At the moment, there are one or assessment? I know that the OCR is involved. two measures, but even those, such as the way that Sarah Stephens: With reference to the TDA’s Ofsted and the TDA look at guidelines, already do database, it is an interesting start and it is based on not fully harmonise, so we certainly do not want it the idea of user feedback. As the Chair pointed out, to get more rigid at this stage, but want it to be open the users are those who define the quality. I think a while longer and then formalise it once more of the that one of the frailties in that sort of system is that larger players are inside. the overall level of knowledge about what makes for Sarah Stephens: May I add one point. I do not think high-impact CPD is not yet that great across the that we should get too distracted by the notion of 520,000 people in this profession.3 We know pretty external consolidated formal provision being the well from research, some of which John Bangs only source of CPD that should be evaluated and referred to earlier, those particular features of CPD, quality assured. One of the somewhat disturbing which, in combination, are most likely to lead to findings of a recent report, and we absolutely impact—not just for the teachers in the sense of their commend the TDA for undertaking a state of the own self-confidence, eYcacy and capability to make nation report, is that 67% of the CPD, according to adiVerence in the understanding of that, which is the sample that the TDA had, was still what could be important in and of itself, but for actual changes to described as passive learning—lectures and John’s teaching and outcomes for the young people. We “death by PowerPoint”. We know and have evidence have historically fought shy of trying to connect about what makes a real, deep and sustained impact teacher learning and children and young people’s on teaching and learning and how we can achieve it. learning, as if these two things cannot be evidenced We need also to focus in on how we can support to be in relationship. But over the last five years, I teachers and schools to evaluate the impact and think we have made a lot of progress nationally and structure CPD in such a way that it will lead to that internationally in nailing that and saying that there sort of impact. That needs to be quality assured as are ways in which you can trace the connection well. between what a teacher learns, what they put into Chairman: I am rather pleased to hear about “death practice and what the outcomes are, in terms of by PowerPoint”. When people ask me to speak at conferences and I say, “No, I am steam driven, I am 3 Note by witness: As at Friday 8 May 2009 there are currently not doing PowerPoint,” I always feel that they are 551,112 registered teachers. This figure includes non- disappointed that they are not getting any pictures. practising teachers who are registered with the General Teaching Council. The number of registered teachers in- Dr Keay: May I draw your attention to an initiative service is currently 492,197. from the Professional Development Board for Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens

Physical Education, supported by the DfES, which 520,000 people,6 you create a system that is more started back in 2001. It turns the issue of quality on about bean-counting than it is about raising its head and requires providers to engage with a standards. We are yet to be convinced that it is not quality assurance and enhancement assessment and impossible to create a system of modest investment to demonstrate how they are meeting the and good impact, but it will take some designing. I requirements. That information is then transferred think the points about the extent to which it then on to the web and people who want to access relies on performance management records and physical education CPD can go there and check who outcomes also need to be taken into consideration. has already gained that badging. I am very happy to Dr Keay: I think we need to do it. I think it would be provide some detail on that, if you require it.4 very diYcult. I think it will help with entitlement. It Chairman: That would be useful. might lead to lip service in terms of undertaking external professional development, but we have to acknowledge that professional development can be Q154 Annette Brooke: This is my final question. undertaken in a whole range of ways. Chris Day’s Obviously we have been talking about registration research shows that teachers maintain eVectiveness, and whether it should be a requirement. I think that but they do not necessarily become more eVective as from your answers so far you may well give the same they progress through the profession, and we need to answer—we are not ready to move to that. Would make sure that people become more eVective and not having a similar process to dentists and lawyers and just maintain that line. making a firm proposal that there were requirements for registration not be an impetus to get all the other I suppose I start from the things that you are talking about properly on the Q155 Fiona Mactaggart: point where you ended, Jeanne, which is that we road? have got to make teachers become more eVective. I Sarah Stephens: We have been doing some work in was rather struck by the research by Professor that area and you will be aware that the Cabinet Y Tymms, published a couple of days ago, which said O ce announced its intention to look at it as well, that if in your first year of school you have a good with the Department and social partners. I should teacher, that result persists right through to your key say that we have looked across a very wide variety of stage SATs in a measurable form. It seems to me professions—both nationally and internationally— critical that whatever initiatives we take to continue and there is almost no other profession that does not professional development, they actually do deliver a have such a system of one kind or another.5 They are better quality of teaching. To that end, I was variable in the extent to which they can demonstrate wondering whether we knew that the model in the that they create impact, as opposed to oVering a level MTL is going to do that, and if we do know that, of basic confidence to the public in respect of keeping how we know it. up to date. That distinction is one that we helpfully Gerry O’KeeVe: In talking about our colleagues in need to draw. There may be a way in which teachers higher education, we hear from them that it is a can keep up to date and maintain a certain level of critical part in the early career progression, and it is practice. There is another part about developing a vital postgraduate professional development practice and enhancing their impact. We have been component. Obviously they see that as something looking at the ways in which these models of that needs to be built on to with more options as continued registration or revalidation diVerentially well. Earlier we talked about the cores of the address things such as symbolic value and public Behaviour Management/Classroom Organisation. I assurance, which is one matter, and whether they think we are hearing that as well, but we are hearing seek to raise standards within a profession, or seek a plea for many more modules attaching and much to remove underperformance or raise the standing of more room for personalised learning underneath the profession, as well as all the risks associated with that, subsequently. that. Of course, they work in diVerent ways. Some Sarah Stephens: I think we do have quite high levels professions have time-based systems, so that every of confidence about what creates the greatest year there is a demonstration of a certain type or positive impact on the quality of teaching as a result quantity of CPD or a certain set of outcomes, or of teacher learning. We know that because there similarly every five years. Other systems will, as per have been successive systematic reviews, both in this the previous conversation, consider whether there is country and in New Zealand, especially. Thousands a specific change of role or phase, or a re-entry to the of studies were looked at to identify which types of profession. There is a kind of event-based trigger professional development actually lead to impact in where there needs to be a demonstration of a certain terms of the quality of teaching standards and children and young people’s outcomes. Some of the extent of knowledge, skill or outcome. Other characteristics are that teachers are involved in systems look at exceptional circumstances of identifying their needs and how they will be met; underperformance, so all these questions need to be there is an aspect of that that is important. High- taken into consideration. There is a risk in any such quality coaching and mentoring is used. The CPD system that the bureaucracy overwhelms the intention, and that, especially with a profession of 6 Note by witness: As at Friday 8 May 2009 there are currently 551,112 registered teachers. This figure includes non- 4 Note by witness: practising teachers who are registered with the General See www.afpe.org.uk/public/pdb–general–information.htm Teaching Council. The number of registered teachers in- 5 See Ev 136–151 service is currently 492,197. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens does involve collaboration and sharing of learning comment on the contrast between those diVerences? as it is happening and after it has happened in order You have one model, which is what you have to get, to embed that. Observational feedback—that kind and another model, when you can grow like flowers of iterative process—is used. It is data-based. It is in diVerent ways. also research-based. It is informed by recent Gerry O’KeeVe: Obviously, there is a certain creative relevant, good-quality research. Probably more than tension within centres, inasmuch as there is the all those things, which are nevertheless important, it senior management team, which has a change is focused explicitly on pupil learning goals and how management agenda or perhaps is seeking to make the teacher’s learning relates to those pupil learning its centre unique or diVerentiate it from others in goals. It has a sharp focus on practice. It is agreed some way. It will therefore pick up certain initiatives nationally that we have quite a high level of and ways of delivering the curriculum to make it confidence in that set of features. I have not distinctive and will be driven through the centre exhaustively expressed it, but if that is the case, we contrasting from the chalkface upwards the needs of need to test the MTL against it. It appears that it is the classroom teacher and the head of department. a practice-based model that has many of those There are two concurrent CPD agendas within the features. That is as much as I know about the MTL. centre, which must be reconciled, but the diVerent You may wish to ask the others about it. The other parts of the teaching and leadership bases need to be piece of information that I want to oVer to the treated diVerently. That is why we need such widely Committee is the development of the Teacher diVering provisions, some of which are tactical and Learning Academy. It is exactly based on such have an immediate return, and others that are of a features. I am not saying that formal provision has more developmental and investment nature. I think no part. It plays a very important part as a trigger. that that is something we are all aware of, and The point about the Teacher Learning Academy is something where there is increased provision of that it takes the teacher learning into practice both kinds. change, which is then evaluated and reflected on by Sarah Stephens: I am not sure that there is such a the teachers as they present their inquiry projects to distinction as Fiona’s question suggested. The the Teacher Learning Academy for recognition. A national professional qualification for headship is, in number of models—MTL being one, the Teacher eVect, a qualification, and it is a set of standards Learning Academy being another—are evolving. We against which a teacher is assessed—that is the at the General Teaching Council think that they are mandatory part of the arrangement. Up until now, oVering a more powerful way to address teachers’ all head teachers have been through at least some professional development. part of the National College for School Leadership Dr Keay: We have some concerns about MTL—not provision in order then to be assessed. But if we look about its practical nature or anything like that, but at the induction experience, that is a set of standards. how it will actually look in practice. We have other Teachers have a variety of experiences and concerns about how the PGCE credits will articulate provisions that enable them to demonstrate whether when students, who are gaining 60 masters level they have met the standards—in a sense, similar to credits, are allowed only 30 and so on. How will PPD QTS. So, I am not sure it is entirely as you suggest. articulate with MTL? I think that we are looking at a standards-based Fiona Mactaggart: I don’t know what PPD is. assessment process, with a set of experiences that Dr Keay: I am sorry. It is postgraduate professional enable the individual, on a personalised route, to development, funded by the Training and achieve those standards. If you look at what the Development Agency. It is working very well and is national college is doing with respect to Leading attracting teachers who are beyond induction and from the Middle, they are moving away from the really engaging in the diVerent types of CPD that we single-size-fits-all provision to test out what that set have spoken about. How will it articulate with that? of experiences might look like if they were localised, There could be a very exciting mix if we do not go but still against the set of middle management down a direct and didactic route towards MTL. It standards. That seems to be a kind of coherence, if could lead to doctoral-level work. There are issues there is such—if that makes sense. there. If we went down the very practical school- based route and did not really engage externally, my V worry would be that we would go into an ever- Q157 Fiona Mactaggart: If we look at the di erent decreasing circle of, “This is what works in our flowers that are blooming at the moment, there are school and this is how we do it in our schools.” I have all sorts of things going on, from Teachers TV to the diVerent quarters that the three institutions that are some problems with those sorts of situations. V Exciting? It could be fantastic for the profession to before us today o er. One of the things that we heard become a postgraduate profession. from our previous witnesses, whom I think most of you listened to, was that the TDA account is helpful, but there seems to be a diYculty in negotiating your Q156 Fiona Mactaggart: It seems that there is a route round what there might be to do, whether it is really sharp diVerence between the generality of developing a course in your school, the latest continuous professional development where a lot of commercial oVer, the university down the road or diVerent things are on oVer, the MTL being the whatever. Do you think that there are eVective biggest recent initiative. What do we do with head relationships between diVerent providers? Do you teachers when we say, “You have to have done this think that the customers can see their roads into course before you can apply”? Will someone what the diVerent providers oVer well enough? Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 134 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens

Dr Keay: I think that the postgraduate professional Q158 Fiona Mactaggart: Are there adequate development opportunities that we are now oVering resources to sustain the quality of continuous have provided that coherence, and I think what is professional development that teachers need? Is it happening is that we are working with groups of directed at the right point? One of the things that I schools and local authorities and getting more was thinking of when hearing our earlier evidence knowledge into the system. You are absolutely right was that perhaps the MTL might not be directed at that it is a minefield for people; they do not know the right point in people’s careers. Are the resources where to go, what to do and who to go to. But there available at the right points in people’s careers to needs to be more liaison between universities, local enhance the quality of teaching or not? authorities, clusters of schools—and private Sarah Stephens: I think that we need a practice of providers, because private providers form a large professional learning at the heart of teaching, so that part of the CPD provision. We just need to work it is not episodic but embedded into teaching. That through all of that, and I think it is starting to means you need to find those means that require happen. modest investment and bring high return, because Gerry O’KeeVe: I think that that is a really key issue, what we are not about is every five years getting a because, just going back into recent history, there is fuel injection or reaching a certain level of academic a danger that national provision, when it is oVered qualification and then the game is over. What we are plentifully and freely,although its intentions are very looking for is a profession that is on a continuous good and pure, can distort whole markets. For learning track. That means that you need to create example, talking about a related area, you might forms of school leadership that understand the remember BBC Jam a couple of years ago, when the power of well-founded professional development for BBC invested over £100 million in massive support school improvement, for raising standards of provision on the web. The net eVect of that was quite achievement is at the heart of that agenda. Currently, negative, and it had to be dismantled after a while for the variability of school spend on CPD is quite three reasons. The first was that putting such a large remarkable. You have got some schools that allocate amount of provision into the market at one time something like 0.25% and others that are working took a lot of niche providers out, or threatened with more like 10% or 15%. If you think that it is their very existence—say, a provider of history demonstrably the case—research evidence shows coursework or notes. The second reason was that the that this is at the heart of improving teaching quality, creation of such a lot of content in a single place by at the heart of school improvement and at the heart a national provider had no sustainability because it of raising standards—we think that this needs to be got out of date quite quickly. There was not part of schools’ foundational resourcing and, necessarily a very good legacy, because it was not absolutely, part of their budgets. produced in partnership. Thirdly, because the Fiona Mactaggart: So, if I could just follow that up, provider was relatively aloof from the assessment Sarah, what do you think about the proposals and achievement dimensions, the provision did not mentioned in the earlier session about the re- really become as essential as it should have been—it registration requirement? Do you think that would was more nice to have, rather than need to have. In help to be part of it, or is it not relevant? a lot of the powerful new contracts that are being Sarah Stephens: In terms of the incentivisation of issued, whether for diploma support or what have you, we need to take care that the provision does not the spend? become monolithic and distort the very markets that Fiona Mactaggart: Yes. it is seeking to sustain. Sarah Stephens: I suspect there is evidence to suggest Sarah Stephens: Briefly, just to be clear, the GTC that it would incentivise the spend. does not oVer any provision. The GTC has piloted a Chairman: I am sorry, I am not sure about that framework of standards of teacher learning, so that answer. Fiona asked whether you were in favour of teachers can draw down on these standards, teachers having to have CPD in order to keep their currently in an entirely voluntary way, and use any practising certificate. form of provision or experience that they are Sarah Stephens: My understanding was that her engaged with, be it with their school, network, local question was whether it would incentivise the proper university or commercial provider, and take that resourcing of CPD. Perhaps I misunderstood. provision and use it to test out changes to practice Fiona Mactaggart: I was actually asking, would it be and then present their work for verification against that people actually did it? certain standards, which include “Have you evaluated?”, “Have you used the recent, relevant research?” and “What are the outcomes?”. It Q159 Chairman: But it would be interesting to know encourages both standards-based teacher learning if you would support that. Does the GTC support and also innovation in a disciplined fashion, just to that? be clear about that. One of the reasons why we Sarah Stephens: As I said previously, we need to moved to create that was that we saw that here was a balance this. We need to find a design that does not market that lacked coherence in terms of quality and overwhelm the system with bureaucracy and cost a was extremely diYcult for the individual school or fortune just to maintain the system—of 520,000 teacher to work their way through. This was in fact registrations, re-registrations and so on—in relation a unifying and standards-based framework for to the impact for children and young people. If we professional development. can find a design that does that then, yes, we think it Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 135

27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens is an important resource for the system in terms of Sarah Stephens: And you are not practising, so incentivising the spend, driving quality and raising likewise. Maybe there is something about those who the standing of the profession. are registered with the Council being in practice and some requirements around that. Mr Chaytor: I am sorry; it is a scandal that if Fiona Q160 Chairman: So the answer is yes but not yet? has not practised for 14 years she can get registration Sarah Stephens: Yes, if we can find the right design with the GTC. That would not be allowed for and we have a good evidence base for it. doctors or dentists. Dr Keay: The teachers who access CPD with us tell Chairman: It may be scandalous, but what is your us that the amount of investment in their CPD is question? variable. For some of them there is very little. They have to pay to go on their own courses. The money—the finance—for CPD needs ring-fencing. Q163 Mr Chaytor: My question for Sarah is about It does not need to go down to individual teachers the Teacher Learning Academy. Could you say a because you then lose the corporate power, but it little more about how it operates and its purpose? does need ring-fencing. Teachers can make submissions, they can enrol with Gerry O’KeeVe: Just to echo what my colleague was the academy in order to make a submission saying—resources are a big issue. In the past three describing some piece of work that they have been years there has been a marked greater diYculty in involved in. What happens then? Where does it all go getting teachers out of centres to attend INSETs and and who benefits from it? what have you. As earlier speakers said, there is a Sarah Stephens: In practical terms, where those much greater appetite for twilight sessions, local submissions go is to other peers and other schools network sessions or for bringing INSET or CPD who have been trained and licensed as verifiers. They provided by a commercial body or awarding body then make assessments on the extent to which their into the centre and perhaps brokering it among colleagues in other schools have indeed met the diVerent schools locally to defray costs. There are standards of one of four stages to which they will very diVerent models emerging in a very material have submitted. Part of the requirement for any one way. A few years ago it might have been 50 or 60 in- of those stages is that the teacher will need to house courses, being given to a private training demonstrate, as I said earlier, that they have provider, now it might be 400 or 500 requests which evaluated the impact and the outcomes of the work, are fulfilled at fairly lean cost, around £1,000 a go— of the learning and the way they have put that into that would be the commercial cost. practice; that they have actually shared that with other colleagues as well, because one of the other critical issues for CPD is that it gets very locked in Q161 Chairman: I was surprised by what Sarah said the individual classroom and locked in the about the seamless progression because you have not individual school. It is important to share not only got a very compliant work force for a seamless those things that are highly eVective or quite progression, have you? It is increasingly dominated eVective, but also those things that actually in this by the female of the species who tend to have time context—being clear about your context—maybe out to have children and so on. Fiona is quite right, did not work and signal for other teachers what does as a teaching profession you have people going oV not work so well. for quite long periods. Are you saying, if we can get a lovely balanced system that would not upset Q164 Mr Chaytor: How many hours work would anybody—presumably the teachers and the teaching typically be involved in that, and is it accredited? unions—you would be in favour of it? There is a very Sarah Stephens: We do not specify the amount of real problem, particularly for those people in a hours. What we do say is, please do not submit more profession who regularly take quite long periods out, than a certain number of words. It is the quality of not just short periods—not quite as long as my hon. the analysis, it is the depth of the reflection, it is the Friend on this Committee who has not taught for 14 extent of your influence on your own learning, on years, but long periods. There is a problem, isn’t your pupils’ learning and on others’ learning that is there? important. The GTC oVers a form of professional Sarah Stephens: I think there is an issue of well- recognition for each of those stages and many structured support for those colleagues to come back universities around the country are working, and in to the profession. have been working, in the pilot with the GTC and continue to do so, to oVer certain levels of credit Q162 Chairman: The head teacher was very good on accumulation on the masters Credit Accumulation that, wasn’t he? and Transfer Scheme points. Sarah Stephens: Absolutely. It may be that the design of this active registration system, of which I Q165 Mr Chaytor: That is not in place universally spoke earlier, needs to focus on supporting people yet? back on to a full registration, for example, with the Sarah Stephens: It is not, not universally, no. General Teaching Council. I do not know, Fiona, Dr Keay: I think that it is beginning to happen and whether you are registered with the General we have teachers who are using the work that they Teaching Council. have done through that method to gain Fiona Mactaggart: I am; but I am not planning to accreditation and prior experiential learning on a teach again. masters course. So it is starting to happen. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 136 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

27 April 2009 Dr Jeanne Keay, Gerry O’Keeffe and Sarah Stephens

Q166 Chairman: Is Teachers TV being helpful in all for Children, Schools and Families—have this CPD? Quickly, what is your evaluation? sponsored very large, ambitious and well-populated Dr Keay: It is starting to become more valued. virtual learning environments that are being used by Gerry O’KeeVe: Similar. teachers to an increasing extent. That is a very real Sarah Stephens: Teachers are using it as a stimulus— and massively exploding part of the whole a good resource to trigger their ideas about what continuum of post-graduate development and that is they might do in their classrooms. It is a way of something that we need to factor into any new opening many classroom doors that you would not strategy to a great degree, as it is a very amenable otherwise get to. What you need is the follow- medium to which teachers have responded really through after that: now, what are you going to do well. It is a pity that the Department is going about it? How are you going to assess that piece of Chairman: to pull the plug on making Teachers TV available on teaching that you have seen there? How does it relate digital next year. That will lose them 60% of their to the research, for example? V audience, as I understand it. But never mind about Gerry O’Kee e: I think this is part of a wider issue, that. Thank you very much for your evidence, it has which is about whether it is virtual learning been most useful. Will you stay in touch with the environments or the use of technology or blended Committee as we work our way through this report. learning. That is, obviously, a massive way of It is important to us; we have a guilty conscience that addressing the lack of resources and lack of time that you did not have as long to talk to the Committee as teachers have. So yes, Teachers TV is one part of that normal and we will make it up to you, we promise. and obviously the Government—the Department Thanks.

Supplementary memorandum submitted by the General Teaching Council for England AComparison of the Registration Requirements of Other Regulatory Bodies Brief The concept of active registration reflects a shift towards increasing the requirements to remain on the GTC register. At present the only professional requirement is possession of QTS. To assess what additional requirements could be added this paper will compare the registration requirements of other professional bodies. This paper represents an initial survey of this information and supporting literature and is not intended to be a comprehensive study. Further research will be needed to develop a robust GTC policy position. The central theme examined in each profession will be: — What further requirements for qualifications and requirements to maintain skills/knowledge/ expertise are in place for maintaining registration? To address this issue the following aspects will be examined within each organisation: — What minimum requirements are in place for registration for the first time; — The role of CPD/further training; — Whether requirements vary depending upon the professional role of members/registrants; — Frequency with which registrants need to comply with these requirements; — How long these requirements have existed; — Who sets the standards and how do other professional bodies ensure these standards for registration have been met; — How compliance is demonstrated eg self-declaration, validation by third party (who?) — Requirements for registrants returning to the profession after an absence. Through this it will be possible to identify trends amongst other professional bodies to more accurately define the requirements for “active registration”.

Methodology The ﬁndings are purely based on desk research. Initially a research of a range of professional regulatory bodies’ websites to determine their registration requirements will be undertaken. This will be complemented by consulting any recent studies on trends in the registration requirements, and the eVectiveness of CPD.

Executive Summary The general trend for professional bodies is to demand some form of mandatory continued professional development in order to remain registered. This CPD is normally measured through hours inputted and may vary depending on whether the professional is full-time or part-time. It can also vary dependent on level of qualiﬁcation, for example dentist requirements are higher than dental nurses, and qualiﬁed social workers diVer from students. These requirements are regularly assessed through self-declaration forms where Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 137

professionals are required to declare they have satisfied the minimum CPD requirements in order to remain registered. Compliance with these requirements is often ensured through auditing random samples of CPD declarations. Often the term CPD is loosely defined by professional bodies, as an activity that is directly relevant to individual practice and will improve a professional’s practice. This incorporates a range of activities from training courses, shadowing colleagues and home study. This approach provides the individual professional with a great deal of freedom to assess their own CPD needs and choose the most appropriate activity. It also bestows a degree of trust onto the individual to actively seek to improve their own practice. Some organisations stipulate that a proportion of CPD hours should be made up through courses recognised by the professional body or through study with colleagues. Some bodies, particularly in accountancy provide a full range of CPD resources, such as training courses or study materials themselves, although members are normally still free to find their own CPD resources. It was not always possible to ascertain when these CPD requirements were introduced, but there does appear to have been a great influx since the turn of the century. Accounting bodies have had voluntary schemes for many years, but it was only made mandatory in 2006, while many medical councils have brought in requirements in the last few years. The exception is law, where CPD requirements have existed since 1985. Those bodies such as the GMC and the RPSGB (Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain) that are currently developing CPD requirements appear to be rejecting the concept of demanding minimum hours in favour of measuring learning outcomes and improved practice. In order to initially register, all bodies require applicants to have completed a recognised professional qualification, many bodies set the standards for training qualifications. A few bodies, such as the NMC state that members must complete a certain number of hours practice to register, and if they do not meet this requirement and wish to re-register a return to practice course must be completed. Many organisations do not require members to complete a test to return to practice but do require them to prove that they have completed the minimum requirement of CPD in the last year, and account for their activities whilst absent from the profession. Again this is through self-declaration and can take a variety of forms, and can be subject to auditing. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 138 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence sion need to complete two years service before full registration. part of this). further qualifications but regulated by the GTCS. contractual obligation forteachers enforced by teachers’ has lapsed but no renewal employers and not of qualifications. Employed as a teacher for No specific requirements. Teachers’ employersyears. After three years of non (involvement in CPD is without completing % % regulate all FurtherEducation teachers. By2010 all FE teachers willbe required to hold maintain arecognised a license CPD to record.practice. All FE teachersare teachers required are to required register towith IFL but only thoseentering the profession responsible forafter 2007 are required tocomplete a preparing toteach in the learning andskills sector diploma(PTLSS) and thenundergo teachers professional are complete required 30 to hoursformation CPD to every become year. Those a workinglicensed practitioner. CPD maintaining record. theirThose Each own starting year after part-time Sept are amount required on to complete a the pro-rata same requirements of satisfy when six the level, re-registering hours minimum with CPD a minimum 6 of hours per that year. they CPD have is met CPD loosely an IFL standards defined activity and as that the teachers will sign have a a positive declaration in samples impact the each on ensure previous year your compliance. year. teaching. to A The IFL IFL monitoring monitor will random begin publishes in CPD guidelines audit mandatory random courses. but samples. does the At not Autumn supply which will to be no policy the of moment there appears sanctions for non- compliance. complete two years early career or returningto the profession after abreak. Practicing certificateFull must Registration be renewed every five and judge whether teaching you can be certificate renewal form teachers meet standards lapses. If you provisionally return re-registered to teaching practice in the previous 5 years, possess a valid practicing certificate. Requirements registered Enforced returning to the profession IFL (Institute for Learning) Established in 2007 to Registrants are required to Full and associate Individual registrants are To re-enter the profes GTCS Qualified Teacher Status None 35 hours CPD is a CPD requirements are Reapply if membership OrganisationTEACHING New Zealand Teachers Minimum Registration Provisionally registered Requirements to remain CPD Requirements How is Compliance Requirements for those Council those in initial training, at least 12.5 hours a week. complete the practice teaching registration Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 139 CPD record. learning (PRTL).Student social workers donot have to to do the this. individual social etc) but must be responsible relevant for workers’ practice. manager. Registrants are employer. maintaining their own Requirements registered Enforced returning to the profession 07 have to complete QTLS or ATLS (Qualified or Associate teacher learning and Skills) within five years. Those working in the sector prior to 2001 do not need special qualifications, while those who started between 2004 and 2007 need level 4 teaching qualification. You can register as aor full associate teacher depending on the level of teaching qualification and the role you are working in. workers and thosestudying to become socialworkers are required registration to everyregister. three are required years to and renew complete completed their post- every three study or training years. must This be can take any PRTL registering form and when submit re- it to the GSCC. This is of fulfilling the registration CPD training and must still provide evidence form requirements, (courses, which supervision must endorsed by their line be approved by your Organisation Minimum Registration Requirements to remain CPD Requirements How is Compliance Requirements for those SOCIAL CARE GSCC All qualified social Qualified social workers 90 hours or 15 days for Registrants complete a In order to re-register you Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 140 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence cers will be appointed. carry out any tasks that Y Within the three yearperiod registrants mustcomplete a minimum of450 hours learning years. of the This each last can practicethey three take wish any form to but be to must registered practice.for be (nursing, relevant midwifery, whenspecialist registration. renewing community The submit NMC itnursing). to the NMCThe NMC will approved introduce return a revalidation to scheme in line with the recent previous legislation three years and are currently you developing audit must a selected complete records.scheme an No for consultation. practice programme. mention is made about sanctions for non- compliance. minimum standards aremet. This is based onannual decided appraisals, yet.employer testimony andmulti-source feedbackquestionnaires.Specialist doctors will berequired to meetrecertification These willrequirements set be by seniorindividual disciplines councils. are reserved for qualified doctors or seen medical as an assessment of directors. Revalidation is practice standards. If stay practising on registrants the practice can register then but remedial doctors. Existing non- they will there not is be concern permitted over tasks. action will be taken or sanctions to imposed. carry out these reserved RequirementsNursing qualification. registered renewed every three years. 35 hours or five days of own CPD record and enough practice hours in Enforced returning to the profession must complete 12 monthsworking in an “license approved topractice practice” setting. and renew registration every to fitness to practice but no specific measurable be enforced by five local years NHS provided trusts Soon where doctors responsible will need a “license to practice” to requirements have been o OrganisationMEDICAL PROFESSIONS NMC Minimum Registration Requirements to remain CPD Requirements Complete a recognised How is Compliance Registration must be Registrants Requirements must for complete those Registrants maintain their If you have not completed GMC Newly qualified doctors New plans to bring in a CPD is seen as important The new requirements will No special requirements. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 141 registration and unsatisfactory CPD could result in suspension from the register. introduced in 2006. practice” it is linked to declaration. This statesthat you have beenpractising for There the is previous notwo minimum years HPC or provides satisfied guidelines HPCre-registration of definingrequirements. CPD Also of and number declare each of profession record. hours when The butnothing complete HPC the has it, will changed and your whatstandards and proficiency register. constitutes audit acceptable 5%or they random character re-register. samples CPD. and This health. was period and of chiropodists schemes knowledge updating and on to skills how re- to podiatrists These in requirements May were 2008. linked to “fitness to first done with Although CPD is not cient website. Y cient training and Registration must be Registrants are required to It is the responsibility of If you have been out of Y profession. through a signed renewal meeting CPD standards. to maintain their CPD will have to undertake a From 30 July 2008 Dentalnurses and dental CPD fortechnicians dentists will was also berequired to register.GDC sets out the 2002, criteria andthat CPD will courses every be and five introduced a in years,institutions January a professionals must who meet are in requirement now fororder those to are be required recognised to as formqualified July complete a and dental 2008 a then minimum onwards. submit of form A 75 ofprofessional. verifiable of revalidation CPD. which must will be Dental verifiable careTo required courses. be professionals to registered register as from their a Registrants minimum fivespecialist must and of year dentist CPD provide documentary your 50 declaration. after every proof registration of five of which years,proof any minimum of a lapses of su required you 150 to are have hours prove still satisfiedqualifications you be CPD and introduced and at an revalidationexperience. the open on requirements consultation their in on order to moment they are must running be verifiable courses. medical examination and You must also complete return a to the profession. provide character references. Requirements registered Enforced returning to the profession erent Su V medical professions) qualifications of each renewed every two years declare that they are the individual professional practice for two years you THE GENERAL DENTALCOUNCIL Regulates all dentists and Registrants must satisfy Dentists must complete a Registrants complete an dental care professionals. If you are out of GDC practice CPD requirements. minimum of 250 hours of annual CPD statement for more than one year OrganisationHPC (regulates 13 di Minimum Registration Requirements to remain CPD Requirements How is Compliance Requirements for those Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 142 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence contact the registration department. Absence for less than 12 months involves simply completing a declaration form. ective from March At least nine entries of Lack of compliance with The society strongly V the register. The GOC arecurrently consulting in their proposals for revalidation. points in addition to this. become statutory. Anyonepracticing to pharmacy enter must at leastbe nine registered entries CPD and per most annum.possess approvedqualifications. assessed by the General moment this is not Pharmaceutical Council mandatory. If you are that will treat non compliance as a misconduct returning issue. to the register after an absence of 12 months you must RequirementsSets standards for allqualifications.Optometrists registered mustcomplete a must degree and sign declarationspre-registration trainingbefore being added to is the criminal indemnityregister. done convictions Education insurance. every and about and This January their training) and health, if the introduced deadline in 2007. is three January missed years. This CET was providers. These are of registrants absence are you required must must to be prove completed www.cetoptics.com every where six months. Those 12 CET all points listed in at the last they will be removed from keep their record up to wanting to that be you registered Enforced have as completed date. returning to the profession a specialist will need to complete 6 specialist CET PHARMACEUTICALSOCIETY OF GREATBRITAIN Also registers pharmacy technicians on a 2009 voluntary CPD was made mandatory. Practising CPD must be recorded. basis, but this will soon the CPD requirements will recommends attending an registrants will be required not incur sanctions until approved return to 2010. Then it will be practice course but at the OrganisationGENERAL OPTICALCOUNCIL Registers all optometrists Minimum Registrants Registration must complete A specified number of Requirements to remain and dispensing CET opticians. points can CPD only Requirements be CPD requirements. They To apply CET to points be (Continuing restored to How is Compliance accrued through approved the register after a period Requirements for those THE ROYAL Regulates all pharmacists. E Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 143 compliance will result in disciplinary action and could delay the issuing of a practice certificate. to maintain a practicingcertificate. It is possible tostay on CPD the per roll which year, and 25% mustdeclare of you be are through notpracticing, therefore noneed to record complete at can CPD. any ask point. to accredited The see courses. your This CPD policy began in certificate. 1985. regain a SRA practicing provide information on accredited courses, and set the standards of their CPD providers. Non- insurance, good healthand compliance with CPDrequirements. They others. are must becurrently working consulting with on aproposed revalidation Those newly qualified havescheme. will their first 10 documentation months registration. each time of CPD requirements they renew their waived. liated year, and CPD at least 32 hours a week record, which should date practicing. There are no Y with the Law Society. requirements must be met must complete 16 hours of back six years. The SRA special requirements to Requirementscompleted a GOsCaccredited course. registered must provide proof of professional indemnity 30 hours at CPD least every 15 year, of these hours folder and submit this along with any supporting Enforced returning to the profession GCC recognised course.Those trained overseasmust good pass character a and GCC testcompetence. of physical fitness. 30 hours CPD every year, when renewing at lease 15 of these hours registration. The GCC maintained whilst not practicing at a reduced fee must be working with intensively analyse a others. rate. random sample each year. OrganisationGENERALOSTEOPATHIC COUNCIL Osteopaths who have Minimum Registration every year. Registrants Requirements to Registers required remain qualified to complete CPD Requirements their CPD in Registration a is CPD renewed How is Members Compliance have been returning to practice. Registrants Requirements document for all those No information on GENERALCHIROPRACTICCOUNCIL chiropractors who provide proof of completing Regulates CPD all 2004 members have been evidence of completing a own CPD record, which requirements, and declare returning to required practice, to but Members complete must provide Since September they submit each year registration can be Members maintain their No information on LAW SOLICITORSREGULATIONAUTHORITY Independent body regulatory that registers solicitors. Practicing It certificates is a must be renewed All every those in legal practice Members or are employment required to and work maintain It their is own possible CPD to remain on the role whilst not Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 144 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence that its is submitted at the end of Realise based CPD being 120 hours over a three year period, 60 of these hours must be verified and at least 20 must be completed each year. Output based is defined as measuring CPD through valid competence assessment methods that are independently administered. accountants in January2006. measured. The IFA set out guidelines of input Requirements registered Enforced returning to the profession IFA. Members must alsocomplete a period ofservice which is recorded in a training record in order to obtain an ACCA practicing certificate. If members wish to carry out audits an additional qualification is required. members have to participate in. each year in order to maintain registration. standards of thisqualification are set by the CPD requirements. established a scheme record of this online. This called OrganisationACCOUNTANCY INTERNATIONALFEDERATION OFACCOUNTANTS (IFA) Minimum Registration The governing body regulators of worldwide. 150 Requirements accountancy to remain Introduced CPD as for a all registered CPD Requirements Individual mandatory regulators requirement can How is decide Compliance necessary how and much how CPD this is is Requirements for those ACCA (Association ofChartered CertifiedAccountants) Registers those that complete an ACCA In order to maintain qualification. The registration members are ACCA input do based not measurements set out any route through the ACCA required Members to choose satisfy a the CPD IFA are given for to CPD return but to have No special requirements scheme and maintain a practice. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 145 ciently Y activity. For an absence of less than five years re- registration is more straightforward, although members still have to account for the time spent whilst out of practice. CPD through the CIMAdevelopment cycle(define— records dating back threeassess–design–act–evaluate).each year. updated their skills years, then CIMA will through a self-declaration assess random samples professional and learning outlining their Requirementsnormally take at leastthree registered years. requirement. Members are evaluation. Members are for registration and prove required to formalise Enforced their required to maintain CPD they have su returning to the profession OrganisationCIMA (Chartered Instituteof Management MembersAccountants) must complete Members must participate Minimum Registration The CIMA scheme is Requirements all to three remain levels of CIMA Members maintain qualifications, their which CPD in Requirements the CIMA professional If a member returns output after based, with development no scheme. How is Compliance own record, mostly minimum hour Requirements for those an absence of five years or measured through self- more they must re-apply Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: CWMEM1 [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 146 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence er a range of CPD complete a level two V erence is the detail with through their website but record and a commitment V certificate of achievement.This scheme system was is inintroduced place on to a voluntarybasis in of 1995, this and system thenvote are a amongst not members was taken to available make via ensure it mandatory the compliance; in website. details 2003. The scheme was revised and implemented in 2005 in line with IFA regulations. having made a significantcontribution to theinstitute or obtained aposition of distinction inpublic finance (this isjudged by a council vote). which members record they do not hour their have the requirement CPD, to same. remains but use If minimum a member do not have three this to years resource—activities be they participates to verified receive at CPD. a level 2 but for must be relevant practice. to A monitoring individual members’ bye-law people can alsogain membership by level 1 or level 2, the di courses and resources learning and development Requirementsand then an InitialProfessional registered DevelopmentScheme (IPDS). Under a year period. Members can CIPFA scheme. CIPFA choose to 120 participate hours at over a three years. Members must also do o requirements of the Enforced up to a maximum of five returning to the profession OrganisationCIPFA (Charted Institute ofPublic Finance and Members mustAccountancy) complete a Members must maintain Minimum Registration Minimum requirement to CIPFA Professional All members complete Requirements an to remain There is accountancy a qualification requirement to the CPD CIPFA Requirements minimum CPD requirements. record at least 20 How hours CPD is of per Compliance year, and annual declaration that pay an annual Requirements fee for of those they all have met the years of non-registration Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 147

Recent Developments and Debates Measuring CPD Most regulatory bodies demand their members to complete some form of CPD to maintain professional registration, and this is most often measured through hours inputted. However, there is currently a debate on whether this is the most eVective way to measure CPD. Essentially time spent on a training course does not prove that the attendee learnt anything and does not prove that their practice was improved as a result.

There is a shift towards measuring outputs from CPD, attempting to measure if learning took place and practice was improved. This approach presents certain caveats though as it is problematic to discern a direct link between CPD and improved practice. A professionals’ improved practice could be due to a number of reasons, not necessarily because they participated in CPD, and a professional may attend a large amount of CPD and not improve their practice. Also measuring output would cost far more, and may lead to resentment by professionals feeling like they were being tested.

The most recent study on this debate was conducted by PARN (Professional Associations Research Network)25 on behalf of the International Federation of Accountants (IFA). PARN analysed the CPD practice of 15 regulatory bodies from a range of sectors throughout the world, and identified an increasing shift away from input measured CPD and towards output measurements. PARN used the “CPD cycle” model (four phases planning, action, results, reflection) that is employed by a range of organisations to develop their own model of assessing the eVectiveness of diVerent CPD measurement schemes and identified three main “profiles” of diVerent approaches to CPD measurement;

1. “Supporting the reflective practitioner” emphasised the planning and reflection of CPD, making the measurement of identifiable outcomes harder. Organisations using this profile showed a liberal attitude towards regulation and emphasised individual personal and professional growth.

2. “Planning for Professional Development Value” emphasised planning again but with regular self- assessment and some minimum input demands. These organisations tended to be non-regulatory, providing their members with a lot of autonomy.

3. “Measuring results” placed emphasis solely on the results phase of CPD. All these organisations were from the medical sector with high public accountability.

The shift from a rigid input to an output system enables professional bodies to give some autonomy back to their members and emphasises the personalisation of CPD. At the moment self-assessment and peer evaluation are the most common means of output measurement, until a more robust system is created. CPD remains an emerging ﬁeld of study, however it still forms a key role in the regulation of professionals as 85% of UK professional bodies have some mandatory CPD requirement.26

These debates are taking place within the education system, as CPD is central to teachers’ development. However, there is no reliable system for measuring the usefulness and impact of CPD that can replace an input measured system. Guskey (2000) cited ﬁve levels of CPD impact; participant reaction, participants’ learning from CPD, organisational support and change, participants’ use of new knowledge and change and student outcomes.27 In their recent article Muijs and Lindsay28 argued that the most common form of measurement remains participant evaluation, which is the lowest level on Guskey’s hierarchical model. It is important that further research is used to develop a system of assessing the eVectiveness of CPD on practice and pupil learning that can then be used to maintain ﬁtness to practice within the teaching profession.

Recent Developments in Medical regulation Following a series of reviews into the regulation of the medical profession instigated by the Shipman enquiries recent legislation has increased the registration demands on all healthcare professions. A white paper was published in 2007, Trust, Assurance and Safety—The Regulation of Health Professionals in the 21st Century. This white paper proposed the introduction of a revalidation scheme for all healthcare professionals. These will be administered by the statutory professional health regulatory bodies (NMC, GDC etc). The Department of health recently published guidelines on what revalidation should look like for healthcare professionals.29 Each regulatory body is currently developing their own scheme for consultation that is based on these guidelines. Requirements for doctors were developed separately though a report by the chief medical oYcer, but still based on this white paper.

25 Approaches to Continued Professional Development, PARN (IFA June 2008), http://www.ifac.org/Members/DownLoads/Formatted Information Paper.pdf 26 Ibid, p 97. 27 Guskey cited in Daniel Muijs and GeoV Lindsay, “Where are we at? An empirical study of levels and methods of evaluating continuing professional development”, British Educational Research Journal, October 2007. 28 Ibid. 29 http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH 091111 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 148 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

“Medical Revalidation: Principles and next steps”, report by Chief medical oYcer Liam Donaldson, July 2008, This report was based on recommendations in the 2007 white paper Trust, Assurance and Safety and brings in the following registration requirements for doctors, who previously had no extra requirements to remain on the register. —EVective from 2009 registered doctors will be issued with a practicing certificate that will need to be reviewed every five years. Renewal will be based on fitness to practice which will be based on evidence from annual appraisals, local employers, multi-source feedback questionnaires and registered complaints. The proposals to judge doctor competence partly though patient satisfaction is an innovative approach that is not evident in any other body — This report recommends establishing a flexible CPD programme within each regulatory body. Output measurement through learning outcomes and improved practice is recommended as part of annual appraisals rather than measuring minimum hours inputted. — Compliance will be ensured by responsible oYcers at local level who will compile information on doctors and report to the GMC and specialist regulatory council. The proposals emphasise local administration, as individual practices are best judged by those familiar with the local context.

APPENDIX DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE PROFESSIONAL BODIES REFERENCED GTCS—General Teaching Council for Scotland cites a contractual obligation to complete 35 hours of CPD every year, the details of this are agreed with their line manager but individual teachers are responsible for keeping their own records. The GTCS provides facilities to obtain this CPD, but it is not responsible for regulating this and ensuring compliance. GTCW—Holds the same requirements as the GTCE; registrants must hold QTS and pay an annual renewal fee. The same is true with the GTCNI. New Zealand Teachers Council—Regulates teachers in New Zealand. — Initial student teachers are provisionally registered if they meet requirements to go on a recognised qualifying course. — To become fully registered registrants must complete two years of teaching practice under supervision of a registered teacher, be a practicing teacher working at least 12.5 hours a week, and meet satisfactory requirements. — Also registrants must have a valid practicing certificate, which must be renewed every three years. — There are no specific CPD requirements to remain on the register. South African Council for Educators—Regulates all teaching staV in schools and higher education. A recognised qualification is required, and a monthly fee must be paid but there are no further requirements to remain on the register. Teachers cannot be employed unless they are on the register though. Institute for Learning (IFL)—Following FE white paper regulations that were brought in in September 2007 to register all FE teachers, the intention is that by 2010 all FE teachers will have a recognised license to practice if they do not possess QTS. — Those who have been working in this sector prior to Sept 2001 will not have to gain these qualifications but will be required to register with the IFL for learning and CPD. — Those started working in the sector between 2001 and 2007 will also not need a license to practice but will need level 4 teaching qualifications. — Those who qualified after September 2007 will be required to register with the IFL, then complete a preparing to teach in the learning and skills sector (PTLSS), then a diploma and then undergo professional formation to become a licensed practitioner. — All those registered are required to complete CPD requirements. Full time FE teachers must complete 30 hours per year and part-time complete the same on a pro-rata level, with a minimum of 6 hours per year. This is the same for full and associate teachers. Individual teachers are responsible for monitoring and recording their own CPD, IFL will monitor this on a sampled basis—teachers must declare they have met CPD requirements to remain registered. GSCC—Regulates those that work in social care, at the moment social workers and social work students are the only registrants, but this may be extended. The requirements for registration are as follows; — Qualified social workers are required to renew their registration every three years. In order to renew their registration social workers are required to complete 90 hours or 15 days of study or training every three years that will enhance their professional development and the standing of the profession—failure to do this is considered misconduct. The exact form this training takes is vague and could be part of a recognised qualification, one day courses, shadowing colleagues etc— individual social workers have to keep a record of their training and development themselves and present it every three years. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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NMC—Regulates nurses and midwives. Registrants must renew their registration every three years. To successfully renew registration they; — Must complete 35 hours or five days of learning in last three years that have furthered their professional development. This training can take a variety of forms. There is no approved professional development, but it must be seen to be relevant to their area of work and improve expertise and knowledge. Individual registrants are responsible for maintaining their own learning and training history. — Must also complete a minimum of 450 hours of practice in each area of practice over the previous three years. These areas are nursing, midwifery and specialist community public health nursing. So to be a registered nurse you need 450 hours of nursing, but to be a midwife and a nurse you need 900 hours (450 in each practice). — If returning to practice you must complete an approved return to practice course in lieu of not having the minimum practice hours. The NMC are currently consulting their members on a proposed revision to the revalidation process and requirements, this is being done through their website; http://www.nmc-uk.org.uk/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID%3387 GMC—General medical council regulates all qualified doctors. Requirements for registration are as follows; — Newly qualified doctors must complete 12 months working in an approved practice setting, as approved by the GMC. After this is completed they can fully register. — Doctors from overseas are required to complete a professional and linguistics assessment board before being registered in the UK. — Following the Government white paper 2007 on regulating the medical profession the GMC are researching the use of patient and colleague questionnaires in revalidating registration. — From 2009 doctors will be required to renew their licence every five years. This will be evaluated through annual appraisals, patient questionnaires and information from local authorities. HPC—Health Professionals Council regulates and registers health professionals from 13 diVerent disciplines ( Arts therapists, biomedical scientists, chiropodists/podiatrists, clinical scientists, dieticians, occupational therapists, operating dept practitioners, orthoptists, paramedics, physiotherapists, prosthetists & orthotists, radiographers, speech & language therapists). These professionals may also be required to be part of their specific disciplines professional body. — To become registered, professionals need a recognised qualification in their field and to remain practicing they must remain registered with the HPC who protects their title by law. — Registrants are required to renew their registration every two years, in order to do this they must prove they have fulfilled the HPC CPD requirements. These requirements are set out through a series of guidelines to improve professional development and patient care but no specific amount of hours or courses are given. Registrants are expected to keep their own record of their CPD and this is monitored through HPC audit of a random selection. This is a new process, as the requirement was only brought in 2006, so the first audit checks are taking place in July 2008. — Renewal is done through a professional declaration that you are fit to practice and have completed HPC CPD requirements. The General Dental Council—Regulates all dentists and dental care professionals. Registration requirements; — CPD requirements—Dental care professionals must complete at least 150 hours of CPD every five years. A minimum of 50 hours of this must be verified hours (as part of a GDC accredited training programme with a certificate). Qualified dentists must complete and keep records of 250 hours of CPD over five years, at least 75 hours of which must be verified. Non verified CPD is loosely defined but must be considered to improve professional practice. — Dentists may apply to be on one of 12 specialist lists following proof of suYcient qualifications and experience. This is not compulsory but they cannot call themselves a specialist unless they are on this list. General Optical Council—Optometrists and dispensing opticians must be registered with the GOC. — Registrants are required to complete a specified number of CET points (Continuing Education and Training) every three years. All CET points must be accumulated from a training provider that is contracted by the GOC. — GOC set the training guidelines for dispensing opticians and grant qualified status. Optometrists must complete a degree and then a statutory pre-registration training before registering fully with the GOC. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

Ev 150 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain—Professional regulatory body for all pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians on a voluntary basis (this is due to become statutory in the near future though). — All practising pharmacists and technicians are required to keep a record of their CPD—although non-practicing are not required to, they have access to the resources of the society. — CPD is soon to be made mandatory following the Pharmacists and Pharmacy technicians order 2007. The exact details of the requirements have not been decided yet and are dependant on findings from a series of trials to ascertain the most eVective way of recording CPD; http:// www.rpsgb.org.uk/registrationandsupport/continuingprofessionaldevelopment/ where the RPSGB are surveying members views on CPD. — Revalidation is also due to be introduced, this is the periodic renewal of practicing rights; CPD will form a part of this. — There is also a debate about creating a new professional body for pharmacy. General Chiropractic Council—regulates chiropractors and protects the profession. Annual retention fee is £1,000, — From September 2004 members have been required to complete 30 hours of CPD per year in order to remain registered, at least 15 hours must be learning with others. Members keep their own individual records of CPD, and submit a CPD summary form with their retention fee every September. The GCC will assess all summary sheets and each year intensively analyse a random sample. General Osteopathic Council—Registers all qualified Osteopaths, who have completed GOsC accredited course, so the regulating body has control of the qualifications. An annual fee of £750 is paid to renew registration. — Members are required to complete 30 hours CPD every year in order to renew registration, at least 15 hours of this must be learning with colleagues. Members keep their own CPD record and submit this along with a declaration to the GOsC each year—the council provides guidance on this but it remains the individuals’ responsibility. — New graduates who apply for registration will have their first 10 months of CPD requirements waived. CHRE—All medical regulatory bodies are regulated by the Council for Healthcare Regulatory Excellence. This body was established in 2003 through an act of Parliament. It does not state any minimum requirements for CPD or registration of the bodies it regulates but does oversee fitness to practice cases of all bodies. Health and Social Care Act 2008—This act received royal assent in July 2008, and establishes the Care Quality Commission, which will regulate providers of health and adult social care. Also increases professional regulation through establishing a new adjudicator to judge professional competence cases and appointing responsible oYcers to monitor doctors’ performance. This will provide a more consistent approach to regulating health care providers in view of increased cross-professionalism. Solicitors Regulation Authority—Independent regulatory body aYliated to the Law Society that regulates over 100,000 solicitors in the UK. The requirements of registration are as follows; — All registrants who are in legal practice or employment and work at least 32 hours a week are required to complete at least 16 hours of CPD per year, 25% of which must be in the form of accredited training courses. — Registrants do not have to be practising to stay on the role, but need to be qualified solicitors. IFAC—The international federation of accountants is the governing body of 150 accountancy regulators worldwide (including ACCA and CIMA). EVective from January 2006 they set CPD as a mandatory requirement to remain a registered accountant and set out the following guidelines for individual regulators to adapt to their profession; — Relevant CPD should be made mandatory for every accountant; each individual professional should be responsible for recording and managing their own CPD. — This can be input based, output based or combined. — Input based is defined as 120 hours over a three year period, 60 of which should be verifiable and at least 20 must be completed each year. — Output based is defined as measuring development through a valid competence assessment method that is administered independently. Evidence of this must be produced at least once every five years. ACCA—Global body of professional accountants regulates professional, chartered accountants. It has a CPD requirement that is not measured through allotted hours but members must keep a full CPD record, which is inspected by the ACCA at random every year. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:35:05 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG3

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CIMA—Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is a recognised regulatory body within accountancy. To become a member after completing all three levels of CIMA qualifications, this will normally take three years. — Members are required to participate in the CIMA professional development scheme that was introduced in January 2006. This is an output measured CPD scheme rather input measured, so there is no minimum hour requirement. Instead members are required to formalise their CPD through completing the CIMA development cycle (define—assess—design—act—reflect— evaluate) on an annual basis, which includes self-evaluation. Members are required to keep CPD records dating back three years on a rolling basis. CIMA then assesses random samples of CPD records each year. Engineering Council UK—Regulates the engineering profession through 36 chartered institutions. This is not a compulsory regulatory body but oVers its members greater professional standing through the completion of exams. May 2009

Further supplementary memorandum submitted by the General Teaching Council for England Induction Figures Approximately 0.1% of teachers fail their induction year, see table below for ﬁgures. Induction Induction Induction Induction As % of total Status Date Passes count Status Date Fails count that pass

Pass 2000 17600 Fail 2000 48 0.3% Pass 2001 20395 Fail 2001 22 0.1% Pass 2002 21479 Fail 2002 32 0.1% Pass 2003 22759 Fail 2003 21 0.1% Pass 2004 24593 Fail 2004 33 0.1% Pass 2005 27364 Fail 2005 19 0.1% Pass 2006 28157 Fail 2006 36 0.1% Pass 2007 27912 Fail 2007 24 0.1% Pass 2008 28480 Fail 2008 24 0.1% Pass 2009(incomplete) 512 Fail 2009(incomplete) 3

To date the General Teaching Council (GTCE) has received 104 potential induction appeals of which 72 have been heard and 6 are pending. The remainder were either withdrawn by the appellants or the appropriate body decided to change its original decision. Of the 72 induction appeals heard to date, the outcomes were as follows: Allowed 3 Dismissed 32 Extension of induction: 1 term 6 Extension of induction: 2 terms 15 Extension of induction: 3 terms 16 The numbers of appeals heard by the Council broken down by year is as follows: 01/02 8 02/03 11 03/04 11 04/05 14 05/06 11 06/07 8 07/08 4 08/09 5 There are currently 7 appeals pending. May 2009 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [SE] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

Ev 152 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Monday 8 June 2009

Members present: Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman)

Annette Brooke Fiona Mactaggart Mr Douglas Carswell Mr Andy Slaughter Mr John Heppell Mr Graham Stuart Paul Holmes Mr Edward Timpson

Memorandum submitted by the Institute for Learning (IfL) Summary — Formed by the further education (FE) teaching community in 2002, the Institute for Learning (IfL) is the professional body for teachers, trainers, tutors, trainer assessors and all those with a teaching role across the diverse FE and skills sector. IfL is an independent professional body governed by elected members and stakeholders. — In 2007, IfL incorporated the mandatory registration of teaching professionals in FE colleges and LSC-funded providers into its portfolio of work, resulting in a rapid growth of membership, 188,000 members by May 2009, and the establishment for the first time of a single professional identity for teachers and trainers. Sixth Form College teachers have the choice of joining IfL or the General Teaching Council for England GTC(E). — Where teachers and trainers are required to register through regulation or LSC contract, membership is funded by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), an arrangement parallel to the funding of the registration of school teachers with GTC(E). — IfL confers the post-qualification professional status of Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) and Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS). — Members are required to remain in good professional standing through an annual commitment to continuing professional development (CPD) of at least 30 hours for full-time teachers and trainers and a pro-rata equivalent for part-time employees, with a minimum of six hours. IfL is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the meeting of the CPD requirement. — Members adhere to IfL’s Code of Professional Practice (the Code), defining the professional behaviour which, in the public interest, the Institute expects of its members throughout their membership and professional careers. — IfL’s role is distinctive and does not duplicate or replicate the work of other national bodies or agencies. IfL does not set the standards for initial teacher training nor does it design or award teaching qualifications, this being the work of Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) higher education institutions (HEIs) and awarding bodies. IfL does not oVer initial teacher training programmes; universities, colleges and learning providers do this. IfL does not provide or commission CPD programmes for providers; the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) oVers or commissions CPD for colleges and providers related to teaching and learning. — IfL focuses on the individual professional teacher or trainer, providing a supportive and rigorous evaluative framework for recognising and valuing the many and varied ways teaching practitioners continually develop their skills and expertise. IfL’s three strategic priorities in our Five-year Strategy 2009–14 are to: — give benefits to members that help them in their teaching and training — increase the status of teachers and trainers — give teachers and trainers more voice to influence policy. The paper below is structured as follows: 14–19 context; Entry to teaching and training; Active registration and remaining in good standing; Licence to Practise: Professional Formation; Continuing Professional Development.

14–19 and the further education and skills context for teaching and training 1. In addition to the traditional post-16 curriculum, IfL members teach and train learners aged 14–16 in FE colleges, sixth form colleges, work-based learning providers and in oVender learning settings. They work alongside school teachers in delivering the new Diplomas but are not able to teach in a school environment or be recognised as a qualified teacher in a school context, unless they have already qualified as a school teacher and hold Qualified Teacher status (QTS). Conversely, school teachers are able to teach in FE settings as QTS is recognised as meeting the qualification threshold. A teacher with QTS is required to gain QTLS within two years of entering FE and skills, LLUK has developed a useful orientation programme for school teachers moving to teach in FE. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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2. That QTLS is not being recognised as qualifying FE teachers to teach in a schools setting is a barrier to the distinctive and up-to-date vocational expert FE teachers being able to contribute fully to the 14–19 curriculum where some of the provision is delivered in a school. IfL believes that 14–19 provision would beneﬁt from ease of movement of the distinctive and complementary professionalisms of teachers across FE and schools, for example up-to-date vocational teachers in FE being able to teach their vocational specialism part of their time in a school. IfL is working with GTC(E) and other partners on ways mutual recognition for QTS and QTLS could be established. However, we understand that regulations for school teaching may need reviewing to enable this development which is solely the role of government. DCSF and DIUS are aware of this issue. 3. Teaching in FE and skillsi is distinct: because of the nature of the sector and the teaching methods appropriate for post-initial education. FE and skills is distinct in the way teachers and trainersii enter the profession, the manner of initial teacher training and the continuing professional development teachers and trainers need for their practice to be maintained at the highest level. Nevertheless, for FE and skills teachers to be able to gain recognition and then teach across schools and further education and skills would give beneﬁts for 14–19 learners, for individual teachers’ careers, as well as for schools and colleges.

Entry into the teaching and training profession: further education and skills 4. Teaching in FE and skills is, for the majority of teachers and trainers, a second or third career. The sector requires highly skilled professionals from all walks of working life—plumbers, chefs, architects, social workers, lawyers, beauty therapists, etc—to reach the stage in their first career where they have the capability and the capacity to train future generations and to give something back. They will be highly experienced, qualified practitioners in their chosen field and will see teaching and training as an extension of their initial professional identity. This is well recognised in research into teaching and training in FE contexts, where teachers and trainers exhibit a dual professionaliii identity, supported and promoted by IfL. 5. For many, entry into the profession comes via a part-time teaching or training role. The sector has a rich tradition of utilising business, industrial and public sector expertise through part-time teaching and training roles—in 2007–08, 52% of teachers working in FE colleges in England were employed in part-time roles.iv This provides a real benefit to learners in that teachers within programme teams will have current vocational experience. 6. Where this evolves into a more substantive or full-time teaching role, or an individual comes directly into a full-time post from business, industry or the public sector, there is a career-long professional obligation to maintain vocational and subject expertise. Teachers and trainers will be members of the many bodies and associations that exist to promote expertise in professional practice,v such as the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the General Social Care Council, etc. At every stage of their careers, teachers and trainers need to exhibit currency of vocational and subject related knowledge and expertise. 7. Since 2001, new teachers in FE colleges in England have been required to hold a teaching qualification recognised by the Secretary of State. The FE white paper Raising Skills: Improving Life Chances (2006) strengthened the focus on professionalising the FE workforce. As part of the subsequent reforms, from September 2007 new regulations extended the initial teacher training requirements for new teachers,vi raising the bar to an NQF level 5 teaching qualification—the Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DtTLLS). In addition, those in an associate teaching role not carrying the full range of responsibilities expected of a full teacher or trainer, were required to undertake initial teacher training to NQF level 4—the Certificate to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (CtTLLS). 8. The 2007 regulations also introduced the obligation for teachers and trainers to be a member of the Institute for Learning, established Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) and Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status, conferred by IfL and required teachers and trainers to demonstrate an individual annual commitment of at least 30 hours to CPD. 9. For the majority of new entrants to teaching or training their initial teacher training is in-service, not pre-service, comprising approximately two years part-time study through a higher education institution or awarding bodyvii DtTLLS or CtTLLS programme. The average age of those undertaking initial teacher training is 37, reflecting the fact that teachers and trainers spend time in earlier professions building up their vocational and subject expertise. Some 15,000 new teachers and trainers start working in the sector each year. 10. This model of initial teacher training is one of the distinctive features of the FE and skills teaching profession. It recognises that teachers and trainers are recruited for their vocational and subject skills and knowledge and that they bring to the sector substantial expertise from their background in business, industry,commerce or careers in the public or voluntary sectors. It also recognises that teaching and learning in FE and skills is diverse and varied—teachers and trainers work in FE colleges, sixth form colleges, work- based learning, adult and community learning, oVender learning, armed forces, emergency services and the voluntary sector etc. 11. A “one size fits all” approach to initial teacher training for FE and skills will not work. Already expert in their vocational area or subjects, teachers and trainers need to develop the skills and knowledge to equip them for teaching and training the rich mix of learners they will encounter throughout their careers. Adults Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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retraining or up-skilling, apprentices working towards a first or higher qualification, 14–16 year olds studying a vocational curriculum, higher education delivered in FE, community outreach—FE and skills teachers and trainers must be prepared to meet the needs of many and diVerent learners. Teaching and learning changes year on year, as do the qualifications defined by Sector Skills Councils and awarding bodies and the use of new technologies. Teachers and trainers, as well prepared as they are by initial teacher training, have to continually keep their vocational and subject knowledge up to date and to continually develop their approach to teaching and learning through CPD. It is important that both initial teacher training and CPD arrangements are reviewed and updated frequently to take account of innovation and new technologies to ensure that teachers and trainers exploit up to date techniques and resources..

Active Registration: remaining in good standing 12. IfL understands active registration to be the term used in the schools context to cover the commitment to, and participation in, continuing school-based learning for those registered with the GTC (E).viii IfL does not use the term active registration, as the act of registration is the process of joining and renewing membership of a professional body. Where, as in the case of IfL, professional status (QTLS and ATLS) is conferred separately by the professional body and is not achieved on qualification, there is already a powerful requirement to remain in good standing as a professional. In the case of IfL membership, remaining in good standing is based upon the key obligations of: qualifying within the period required on entry to the profession; suYcient CPD each year; and upholding the standards expressed in the Code of Professional Practice. 13. Teachers and trainers working in FE and skills are required to achieve QTLS or ATLS status within five years of entering the profession. This journey starts with the Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PtTLLS) award, which must be achieved in the first year of practice and until the achievement of PtTLLS, teachers and trainers are considered to be in need of professional support (mentoring in the processes and practice of teaching) by a qualified person.ix 14. It is normal practice for teachers and trainers go on to complete DtTLLS or CtTLLS in the first two years of their careers, indeed PtTLLS is usually delivered as the first element of the Diploma or Certificate, and they are required to do so within five years of entering the profession. In 2007, following a comprehensive review of the standards for initial teacher training by LLUK, the new Diploma was embedded in the teacher training programmes oVered by higher education institutions in the form of revised graduate and post-graduate Certificates in Education (Cert Ed/PGCE). The Diploma and the Certificate are also oVered by awarding bodies such as the City & Guilds of London Institute and Edexcel, these routes commonly being followed by work-based and adult and community learning providers. 15. Unlike the model that exists in schools and following the method operating in most other established professions, professional status (QTLS or ATLS) is not conferred by the higher education institute or awarding body on qualification. QTLS and ATLS are conferred by IfL on the satisfactory completion of Professional Formation, the post-qualification process by which a teacher or trainer demonstrates through their practice the ability to use eVectively the skills and knowledge acquired whilst training to be a teacher and the capacity to meet the occupational standards required of a teacher. 16. Conferral of QTLS and ATLS status in this way by IfL aVords a degree of protection of title and enables the requirement to remain in good standing through evidence of career long professional learning to have meaning beyond simply retaining registration. A teacher or trainer in FE and skills can only claim to hold professional status and continue to be employed in FE and skills whilst in membership of IfL, upholding the standards of behaviour expected of members as defined in the Code and having suYcient evidence of at least 30 hours of CPD each year (or pro rata equivalent), as is deemed necessary to remain in good standing.

Licence to Practise:Professional Formation 17. QTLS and ATLS status form the Licence to Practise, for the “full” and “associate” teaching roles, as defined in the 2007 regulations. Charged with developing the methodology for conferral of QTLS and ATLS professional status, IfL was mindful of the fact that the vast majority of teachers and trainers complete initial teacher training in-service. By the time they achieve the DtTLLS and CtTLLS awards most have accumulated substantial teaching experience, unlike professions where training is pre-service and the opportunity to practice is limited to simulated activities or work placement. 18. In recognising that teachers and trainers will have very diVerent journeys towards qualification and, in doing so, will have varied experiences of putting initial teacher training into practice, IfL has adopted an evidence based approach with flexible timings for the conferral of QTLS and ATLS status. This diVers from the one-year period of being a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in schools. 19. Teachers and trainers are required to show IfL evidence of their fitness to practise and suitability to hold QTLS or ATLS status. Assessed by trained peer reviewers, the Professional Formation portfolio includes the teacher’s or trainer’s declaration of suitability, evidence of numeracy and literacy skills at level 2, evidence of subject expertise and, through initial professional development planning and self evaluation and evidence of reflective professional practice. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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Continuing Professional Development 20. Since its formation by practitioners in 2002, IfL’s mission has been to raise the status of teachers and trainers through defining their professional identity and encouraging CPD. IfL was fully involved in the establishment of the Equipping our Teachers for the Future agenda in 2004 and the subsequent development in 2007 of regulations covering FE colleges in England and the extension of this to other Learning and Skills Council funded learning providers through the terms of local LSC contracts. 21. In 2005, following considerable consultation with teachers and trainers, teacher trainers and other stakeholders, IfL published Towards a New Professionalism. This was the first articulation of a modelx of professional practice for teachers and trainers working in FE and skills and built on the research literature describing the “dual professional” nature of teaching and training practice. 22. As discussed earlier in this document, the majority of teachers and trainers come to FE and skills as professionals, already experts in their field. Exceptions can include those who train specifically as experts in skills for life: numeracy, literacy and English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) or new graduates teaching their subject, for example history or mathematics. Through initial teacher training and practice they develop a second expertise, that of teaching and learning. This is the essence of dual professionalism. IfL’s model describes the way in which the dual professional identity of teachers and trainers is influenced by the need for currency in vocational and subject expertise and excellence in teaching and learning. It also provides for the impact of “place”, or the context in which teachers and trainers work and the relationship between an individual’s CPD and the employer. 23. IfL has adopted a highly personalised, individual model for professional learning. It recognises that teachers and trainers are best placed to reflect on their practice, plan their own CPD interventions that may relate to subject, teaching and learning or other needs related to the precise context of their work and the types of learners they teach, and then to identify the diVerence their CPD has on their practice and the benefit to their learners. It charges all teachers and trainers with the aspiration of becoming reflective practitioners and to use self and peer reflection as the means to continually improve teaching and learning. Teachers and trainers are expected to share this review of their individual professional development needs with their employer. 24. This is a significant departure from custom and practice, challenging the sector to move beyond in- service training models derived from the needs of the system towards a more personalised approach with the teacher or trainer driving the process. This is best achieved where performance management processes such as appraisal and the observation of teaching and learning aVord both the employer and the teacher or trainer the space to reflect on individual and organisational needs and arrive at a negotiated professional development plan where the support of the employer for CPD is apparent. 25. Ideally, the planning horizon for a teacher’s CPD is linked to being a career professional teacher or trainer, and so planning strategically for periods of several years to build up a rich repertoire of professional skills and knowledge. Currently, a one-year planning horizon driven by annual appraisal is typical. 26. Members of IfL are required to declare at least 30 hours of CPD per annum (full-time teacher or trainer, pro-rata for those working part-time). This is achieved through a simple online declaration process or hard copy declaration for those with diYculties in using or accessing IT. All members are required to retain some form of portfolio of evidence of their CPD, though the format of the portfolio is not prescribed. The portfolio could take the form of a reflective journal, a professional development record or an electronic portfolio (eportfolio). 27. IfL monitors all CPD declarations and carries out a stratified random sample of CPD records, reviewed by a team of trained and experienced teachers and trainers. The results of the audit and analysis will form part of IfL’s annual report on CPD which produces case studies and exemplars of eVective practice. The recommendations will help all members in planning and evaluating the impact of their own professional development and will enable employers to draw on findings and to provide appropriate levels of support for teachers and trainers. IfL recommends that all members share their on-going professional development with colleagues who will be able to act as critical friends, supporters and peer reviewers. 28. To support members in the planning and recording of their CPD, IfL has developed a leading edge online personal learning space and eportfolio: REfLECTxi. REfLECT is provided as a benefit of membership and oVers each member a personal learning space to reflect on their practice, plan, record and review their CPD and to share their learning with peers, developing communities of practice, as well as evidencing the impact their CPD has on their practice. Since its launch in April 2008, already REfLECT has attracted over 31,000 member users and is receiving world-wide attention and acclaim as one of the largest professional eportfolio initiatives. 29. REfLECT is far more than an eportfolio. At the sector level it delivers on the aspirations of the Government’s Harnessing Technology agenda, providing all teachers and trainers in FE and skills in England with a common elearning and eportfolio platform. In this way it is a significant force in increasing the IT and elearning skills of the teaching and training workforce. At a personal level, it also provides teachers and trainers with an online repository for their teaching and learning resources and the ability to share these privately and publicly. Members are using REfLECT to share learning across their employing Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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organisation and beyond through subject and special interest communities of practice. They are also using the web authoring technology within REfLECT to create online learning resources such as blogs and webfolios for their learners. 30. REfLECT captures the very essence of IfL’s approach to CPD. It encourages reflective practice, it facilitates the recording of CPD, it enables members to collect their evidence in one place and it promotes peer reviewing and the sharing of professional learning. That it is also a simple way for members to make their declaration to IfL that they remain in good standing and an easy way for teachers and trainers to open up key parts of their own portfolio for sampling by IfL is a valuable added benefit. 31. CPD is the hallmark of every professional, and IfL works closely with a number of other professional bodies to exchange good practice and ideas that help members deliver the best professional services to their learners or service users. A senior policy adviser in the Cabinet OYce, refers to their research that shows the world’s best public services are characterised by rich and dynamic professional networks enabling individual professionals to rapidly share practice and learn from each other. IfL strives to be a world-class professional body for teachers and trainers across FE and skills, and in turn to bring benefits for their five million or so learners. May 2009

Endnotes: i IfL’s regulatory footprint covers FE colleges, sixth form colleges, specialist colleges and specialist designated institutes in England, and through contracts learning providers in England in receipt of local Learning and Skills Council contracts. IfL’s membership is not exclusive and includes teachers and trainers working in teaching and training provision outside of publicly funded FE and skills and those, such as teacher trainers, managers and leaders, with an interest in teaching professionalism. ii Many titles are used for those working in the sector: teacher, trainer, lecturer, instructor, tutor, trainer assessor, facilitator, etc. For simplicity this document uses the term “teacher and trainer” or “teacher or trainer” to cover all those who have a role which incorporates teaching and learning. iii IfL’s model of professional teaching and training practice draws on the concept of dual professionalism, describing the teacher or trainer’s CPD as being a blend of their vocational area or subject (usually their initial professional identity) and their approach to teaching and learning (their newly acquired identity as a teacher). This is set within the context of their professional practice—the type and nature of college or learning provider they work in. iv 2007–08 StaV Individualised Record (SIR). v In January 2009, a rapid survey carried out by Landex , the employer membership body for specialist agricultural and horticultural colleges, there were over 100 professional bodies identified through a survey of teachers and trainers who hold membership to support their subject expertise. Similarly, Holex, a body with members who manage adult and community learning providers, found in their survey at the same time that teachers were in membership of over 100 diVerent vocational or subject associations. vi The Further Education Teachers’ Qualifications (England) Regulations 2007 and the Further Education Teachers’ Continuing Professional Development and Registration (England) Regulations 2007. vii The Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector is oVered in the form of graduate or post-graduate level qualifications through higher education institutions or as an endorsed teaching qualification through awarding bodies such as the City & Guilds of London Institute or Edexcel. viii GTC(E) is developing thinking in the issue of “active registration” with a view to requiring members to periodically renew their licence to practise, based on the assumption that a single qualification obtained at the start of a career may not be adequate proof of suitability to practise in the decades that follow. The criteria for renewing registration may include evidence of professional development, structured preparation for a return to practice, the absence of disciplinary action, a certain number of hours worked, or more rarely, an acceptable level of performance.

ix The Further Education Teachers’ Qualiﬁcations (England) Regulations 2007. x This model of professional practice is illustrated in graphic form in the enclosed CPD Guidelines.

xi REfLECT has been developed in partnership with Pebble Learning, taking the PebblePad personal learning space and eportfolio which was already in use in several colleges, learning providers and universities and transforming it into a powerful online professional learning environment and making it available for all IfL members as a beneﬁt of membership. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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Memorandum submitted by Lifelong Learning UK THE SECTOR SKILLS COUNCIL FOR LIFELONG LEARNING 1. Summary Highlighted below are the key pieces of evidence which Lifelong Learning UK wishes to place before the Select Committee to inform their deliberations. In summary: — there are a range of routes into further education (FE) teaching with credit accumulation and transfer agreements between awarding bodies and Higher Education institutions. This flexibility enables the status of Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills to maintain relevance in a variety of further education teaching and learning situations; — whilst the teaching standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills are diVerent, in practice there is significant similarity of initial teacher training content and methodology. DiVerences are more a matter of degree; — the majority of FE entrants train in-service which allows for a greater diversity of entrants who bring with them their skills, including vocational skills and relevant professional and/or vocational qualifications—this dual professionalism brings breadth and credibility; — the FE standards ensure that the person applying for Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills has skills to meet the demands of teaching in their FE context; — FE initial teacher training is undoubtedly more diverse than that for schools and with this variety comes a variety of opportunities for development for those delivering initial teacher training. The Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training are making an interesting contribution and which is often innovative; — mentoring is recognised as having a positive impact on the trainee, but funding for coaching and mentoring is not explicit in current FE funding arrangements and so is diYcult to track and evaluate; — the role of the teacher educator is a key factor in teacher training; — whilst the mentor role is generally being acknowledged through some abatement of the mentors’ own teaching commitments there is considerable variation in the tariVs applied. In non-traditional FE contexts, mentors often operate with no remission or acknowledgement of the time needed to carry out the role; — whilst FE teachers have relevant masters courses available to them, a teaching and learning masters would not be an appropriate further development for all of those who have Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills status. Given their dual professionalism, acknowledgement of advanced skill by the relevant trade professional association or advanced tutor status might be more appropriate advanced skill recognition routes for some teachers in FE; — there is no transferability between Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills for FE teachers and Qualified Teacher Status for school teachers. Those who obtain Qualified Teacher Status can transfer to teach in the FE sector through professional formation, in the form of FE orientation. It is not as easy to transfer from the FE sector into the schools sector. This may be a potential barrier to eVective collaboration work within 14–19 partnership consortia.

2. About Lifelong Learning UK and our Role in FE Sector Teacher Training 2.1. Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) is the independent employer led Sector Skills Council for community learning and development;1 further education; higher education; work based learning; and libraries, archives and information services. In April 2009 our footprint was extended to include careers guidance. 2.2. LLUK provides the strategic perspective for workforce planning and development for the sector across the four countries of the UK. 2.3. We are licensed by the UK governments to set standards for occupational competence in the delivery and support of learning. These standards are used to inform the recruitment and professional development of our employer’s staV. Further information can be found on our website: www.lluk.org 2.4. In the 2006 FE White Paper; Raising skills, improving life chances, the Government announced its intentions to introduce new regulations as part of a policy to professionalise the Further Education workforce, which includes not only staV working in FE colleges but also those in publicly funded work- based learning and adult and community learning. 2.5. The regulations which came into force on 1 September 2007 state that all new staV employed as teachers, tutors, trainers, lecturers and instructors (referred to as teachers hereafter) in the further education (FE) sector must be professionally registered and licensed to practise by the Institute for Learning (IfL).

1 This includes Community Development, Working with Parents, Youth Work, Development Education, Community Based Adult Learning, Family Learning and Community Education. More detail on request. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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2.6. To be licensed, all teachers must be trained to a standard that allows them to achieve either Qualiﬁed Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS) status or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills (ATLS) status. 2.7. All teachers should undertake at least 30 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) per year, with reduced hours for those on sessional, fractional or part time contracts, and maintain a record of CPD activities undertaken. For in-service trainees this CPD requirement runs concurrently with their initial teacher training. 2.8. The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills allocated £30 million in 2007–08 to enable colleges to implement the new regulations as set out in ‘Equipping our teachers for the future’. 2.9 There is no management of training places at national level and funding for FE teacher training is diverse. DIUS oVers funding for the Further Education Training Bursary Scheme to trainee teachers undertaking the Diploma to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) qualiﬁcation on a pre-service basis, intending to undertake a full teaching role in one of the shortage subjects. There is LSC funding available to those taking awarding body accredited provision through FE providers. 2.10 There are a range of routes into teaching: part-time, full-time, pre-service and in-service with credit accumulation and transfer agreements between awarding bodies and Higher Education institutions. Lifelong Learning UK’s information and advice service oVers impartial help to those entering teaching to navigate their career journey.

Evidence in Response to the Select Committee’s Terms of Reference 3. Measuring quality 3.1 The teaching standards for QTS and QTLS are diVerent, with QTS structured around three headings (professional attributes, professional knowledge and understanding, professional skills) and QTLS around six diVerent headings known as domains (professional values and practice, learning and teaching, specialist learning and teaching, planning for learning, assessment for learning and access and progression). 3.2 In practice there is significant similarity of initial teacher training (ITT) content and methodology. The diVerences which reflect the standards are more a matter of degree with some elements being more demanding in one standard whilst others are more demanding in the other. Obviously operating context will also aVect focus and terminology. 3.3 QTS requirements and guidance are more explicit on what is required for each trainee than those for QTLS. On the one hand, it is easier for QTS providers to ensure equality of experience between trainees but on the other, more possible for QTLS providers to personalise the learning of trainees in response to their prior learning and present context. This flexibility enables QTLS to maintain relevance in a variety of situations. 3.4 Lifelong Learning UK professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers benchmark practice, knowledge and understanding. Higher Education institutions and Awarding Bodies use the standards as a basis for development of initial teacher training qualifications. The core units of assessment within the qualification ensure that all standards are met. This is endorsed by Standards Verification UK which is an arms length subsidiary of Lifelong Learning UK.

4. Entry into the teaching profession 4.1 Whilst the majority of entrants to school teaching do so through pre-service training, the majority of further education entrants train in-service. This allows for a greater diversity of entrants who bring with them their skills, including vocational skills and relevant professional and/or vocational qualifications, and their life experience, including that of the world of work. This dual professionalism brings breadth and credibility. 4.2 In FE, whilst there are entry requirements for the small amount of pre-service training, there are no formal entry requirements for in-service ITT. Naturally trainees will have appropriate qualifications or vocational skills in the subject they wish to teach and an applicant must pass a CRB check. 4.3 Since September 2007 all new staV employed as teachers must be professionally registered and licensed to practise by the Institute for Learning. To be licensed all teachers must be trained to a standard that allows them to achieve with either QTLS or Associate Teacher Learning and Skills status. 4.4 For those entering without formal teaching qualifications since September 2007, the Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector (PTLLS) award is a minimum threshold license for all who have an element of teaching in their role, irrespective of job title. Within five years, QTLS must be obtained. This gives an opportunity for somebody with potential to develop and be supported through this experience if in-service. 4.5 The prior learning and skill evidenced by QTLS are not recognised in an application for QTS. However, following research into similarities and diVerences, QTS is recognised as prior learning for FE. 4.6 FE orientation CPD guidance has been developed for those with QTS entering FE. This recognises the diVerence in context and leads to CPD being perceived as a benefit which will facilitate orientation rather than appearing to imply a deficit model. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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4.7 Whilst feedback suggests that some trainees ﬁnd the literacy aspects of the DTLLS challenging, Ofsted reports that understanding of this element is improving in FE ITT. Discussions are underway as to how pathways might be developed to support pre-qualiﬁcation learning in this area. 4.8 FE ITT provision is more usually locally rather than nationally generated regardless of whether it is in-service or not. This is thought by some to lessen central government investment in any centralised recruitment and thus places an additional responsibility on individual providers in the recruitment process. This is a matter of policy as local provision could be supported by a centralised well funded advertising campaign across the sector. 4.9 The emphasis within FE on recruiting those who can bring their existing work skills into education may result in a perpetuation of gender disparity in professions, for example, unless deliberate action is taken to rebalance this. 4.10 Locally generated provision also leads to more contextualised learning which is best supplemented by further CPD to broaden application to other contexts. FE encompasses an increasingly broad range of contexts. With the closure of the Learning and Skills Council in 2010 and transfer of responsibilities to local authorities such locally generated provision may help to strengthen local delivery arrangements including for the diplomas. 4.11 FE standards ensure that the person applying for QTLS has skills to meet the demands of teaching in their FE context. Some applicants for QTLS may expect never to teach 14–16 year olds. For some teaching this age group is a short step. For others it would be a very diVerent context from the one in which they are teaching at present. Orientation CPD which included such things as behaviour management and health and safety would be appropriate.

5. The delivery of Initial Teacher Training 5.1 FE ITT is undoubtedly more diverse than that for schools and is seen by Ofsted to be improving. The most recent Ofsted report into FE ITT paints a dramatically healthier picture than that of 2003. Along with this variety comes a variety of opportunities for development for those delivering ITT. The CETTs are making an interesting contribution and which is often innovative. 5.2 The relationships between FE and HE in relation to ITT is still developing following the introduction of the new standards and qualiﬁcation speciﬁcations in September 2007 and there are various models operating. Generally these relationships are good. 5.3 LLUK with others, including the TDA, has commissioned several pieces of research into training provision and sees this as essential to making informed decisions. In FE, trainees are more likely to be doing in-service training and therefore more likely to have support from colleagues but for their mentor to also be their tutor. 5.4 Mentoring is recognised as having a positive impact on the trainee, but funding for coaching and mentoring is not explicit in current FE funding arrangements and so is diYcult to track and evaluate. 5.5 A trainee’s subject knowledge and skills may not always be supported by eVective mentoring, particularly in smaller organisations and as consequence not all trainees may achieve their full potential. 5.6 The role of the teacher educator is a key factor. FE colleges are making good progress in their workplace teaching practice management, with the mentor role generally being acknowledged through some abatement of the mentors’ own teaching commitments, although Ofsted have noted there is considerable variation in the tariVs applied. In non-traditional FE contexts, mentors often operate with no remission or acknowledgement of the time needed to carry out the role.

6. CPD provision 6.1 The picture with regard to CPD provision in FE is very varied and therefore there are some excellent examples of best practice. 6.2 As part of their professional status, holders of QTLS (or ATLS) are expected to undertake a minimum of 30 hours CPD per year (scaled down for part-time staV) the content of which is guided by the reﬂective practitioner in negotiation with their employer. The CPD requirement is regarded as the responsibility of the individual teacher. This position of agency staV and requirements for CPD may be variable across organisations. 6.3 As each FE institution is independently run with its own business plan, employers need to understand the business case for any CPD that they fund. This understanding is more developed in some providers than others. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that this has an eVect on how the requirement for CPD is perceived by those holding QTLS. 6.4 Where there is access to communities of practice and electronic access perceptions of CPD are often more positive. 6.5 FE teachers do have relevant masters courses available to them such as the masters in lifelong learning and the master in adult and community learning. A teaching and learning masters however, would not be an appropriate further development for all of those who have QTLS status. Given their dual professionalism, Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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acknowledgement of advanced skill by the relevant trade professional association or advanced tutor status might be more appropriate advanced skill recognition routes. Some holders of QTLS already have management qualifications and so contextualisation of the application such qualifications in the FE sector may be more appropriate than further qualifications. 6.6 There is no transferability between QTLS for Further Education teachers and QTS for school teachers. However those who obtain QTS can transfer to teach in the FE sector through professional formation, in the form of FE orientation. It is not as easy to transfer from the FE sector into the schools sector. This may be a potential barrier to eVective collaboration work within 14–19 partnership consortia. 6.7 After the Learning and Skills Council ceases in 2010, local authorities will be given the strategic commissioning role for all education and training for children and young people up to the age of 19 years old. This may enable eVective integration of service delivery and training, particularly in the vital 14–19 age group, as schools, colleges, work-based learning providers and employers start to deliver diplomas and apprenticeships alongside GCSE and other courses, and the compulsory participation age is increased to 18 years old. Further investigation to understand the impact of diverse funding mechanisms on entry into Further Education teaching could prove fruitful. June 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Association of Colleges Introduction College teaching and lecturing staV enter the profession by two main routes: — The route which prospective teachers enter work via a full time higher education qualification, usually a PGCE. This is normally for people wishing to teach academic and vocational qualifications in Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges who during their PGCE will undertake placements teaching in a sixth form or College. This is known as pre-service training. — As professionals who choose to teach their profession, normally a vocational skill, in a College. This is a useful way of ensuring current expertise and experience is passed on to students. Until recently these staV were able to teach without training but they now have to fulfil a statutory requirement to study the theory and practice of teaching. This route is known as in-service training. Our response focuses mainly on the in-service entrants to the lecturing and teaching profession.

In-Service Training Many Colleges are short-staVed in particular skills-based areas and therefore in-service trainee teachers can begin teaching immediately. In some Colleges their timetable would be reduced to give them an allocation (normally two hours per week) for their teaching course, which is a higher education qualification; in other cases, Colleges reduce the trainee teacher’s teaching load in their first year of teaching. This can be supplemented with a period of induction. All new unqualified entrants must complete the “Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector” (PTLLS) qualification within 12 months of starting to teach. This is easier if staV are recruited to start in the autumn term but more diYcult with smaller numbers who join the profession as the academic year progresses. Some FE vocational lecturers arrive already qualified and therefore will be managed through a probation period and generally the allocation to a subject mentor. This mentor would observe their teaching on a regular basis and conduct one monthly, three monthly and six monthly reviews. It should also include contributions from staV and students to the performance review with targets set for the new member of staV. These arrangements will vary between Colleges depending on the process for supporting new teachers. There may be a need to consider paid induction for prospective College teachers to enable the establishment of an extended three month induction mostly consisting of training. This could deliver the PTLLS qualification. In-service teachers have four observations per year on a two year programme (five in year 1 if the programme includes PTLLS); these observations normally include one with a tutor, one with a mentor and one conducted jointly. Some vocational staV do struggle with the academic assignments but there is support to tailor ITT to students with a more skills-based course. Many College staV appreciate the increased professionalism, and therefore status, the new qualifications have given to what was traditionally seen as a “poor relation” to teaching in schools. Lewisham College has developed a vocational Diploma in Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector (DTLLS) which has been developed jointly with London South Bank University and funded by the Edge foundation. The emphasis of this programme is on improving the quality of teaching and learning for new trainees rather than general educational skills. Highbury College’s Certificate in Further and Higher Education programmes are designed to reflect the practical classroom skills required for eVective teaching. These are models worth evaluating to assess whether it could be widely implemented. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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Standards of Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Ofsted published a report in February 2009 on ITT in Colleges. The Report’s key recommendations for higher education institutions and national awarding bodies were that they should: — establish clear systems and procedures for tracking the progress trainees make from their diVerent starting points on entry to the training — ensure that trainees’ practical teaching experience, in particular the development of their expertise in teaching their specialist subject, is central to their training and the assessment of their progress — apply the same rigour to the monitoring and evaluation of the trainees’experience in the workplace as that applied in the taught courses — define clear progression routes from national awarding bodies to higher education institution qualifications. The report also said that FE Colleges and employers shouldsecure good-quality workplace mentoring for trainees to support them in developing the necessary skills to teach their specialist subjects. Finally, Ofsted recommended that the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills should review the adequacy of short-term funding arrangements and clarify accountability for the implementation of actions to raise the standard of support for further education trainee teachers in the workplace. AoC believes that funding is the main driver to improvement in this area. We were pleased that £30 million of support for initial teacher training was provided in 2007 and believe that this has led to important improvements as evidenced by the Ofsted report of inspections between 2004–08. Anecdotal evidence suggests many Colleges used this additional funding to pay for teaching cover for those who were attending ITT courses and for subject specific mentoring arrangements. We would support the further allocation of funding to Colleges that develops consistency across the sector and supports new untrained staV to achieve PTLLS before they start in the classroom. The full report can be accessed on the Ofsted website: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by- type/Thematic-reports/The-initial-training-of-further-education-teachers2

Mentoring Mentoring is provided by curriculum staV in Colleges and training providers in which the staV are employed. Colleges have substantially improved subject specialist mentoring arrangements prompted by inspection processes and using the £30 million of funding granted to Colleges in 2007. Mentoring can, however, be a problem in areas where there are no qualiﬁed teachers; for example, in small organisations or in very specialist subject areas.

Continuous Professional Development (CPD) The obligation to complete CPD is a legal requirement which lies with the individual rather than the employing institution. Often Colleges provide a programme of complementary CPD which includes the reflective practitioner element, through which teachers have to evaluate the quality of their CPD and how it will improve their teaching, proving useful in promoting research in practitioners’ own subjects. AoC would support the production of guidance on professional formation specifically for newly qualified teachers to complement the 30 hours of CPD. This would encourage a connection between the trainees’ initial training and their first year of employment and would include identification of gaps in training that could be supplemented by College staV development activities. There may be a need to consider whether Adult Learner Responsive Funding could be used to fund CPD for College staV.

Availability of Placements Colleges are pleased to place trainees from pre-service courses. This is through long established partnerships with universities which sometimes franchise delivery to Colleges. Placements are supported by eVective funding from the HEIs for mentoring and coaching arrangements. However there needs to be an improved understanding of supply and demand as HEIs often have too many pre—service trainees in some subjects which are not necessarily in areas of need. AoC would encourage the establishment of formal “training Colleges” with a similar status to some schools to support pre service trainees.

Teaching of 14–16 Year Olds There are currently over 80,000 14–16 year olds being taught for part of the week in Colleges. Although those teachers aiming to achieve QTLLS do not receive speciﬁc training on the learning needs of 14–16 year olds AoC believes the FE teacher training is generally ﬁt for purpose although does perhaps require further emphasis on safeguarding and behaviour management. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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A need for FE Teachers to have their own version of the Masters in Teaching and Learning? We are not convinced there is a need for an additional qualiﬁcation unless it was linked to advanced practitioner status. This is where some Colleges, using government funding, create posts which allow some staV to undertake direct teacher observation. The staV may receive additional pay and would work across the College but also remain teaching. We assume Colleges would have to fund any Masters in Teaching and Learning from their own staV development budgets. May 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Principals’ Professional Council (PPC) 1. Principals’Professional Council (PPC) 1.1 The Principals’ Professional Council is a professional association representing principals and senior postholders in further education. The organisation was formerly the Association of Principals of Colleges. On the formation of the Association of Colleges the APC became part of that organisation and changed its name to PPC. In May 2008 the PPC then became formally part of the National Association of Head Teachers as an aYliate organisation. As college leaders the members of PPC have a commitment to the initial training and continuing professional development of their staV. We are keen to ensure that the elements of the training and development are of the highest quality and are therefore mindful of the need to improve the processes by which such development takes place prior to entry and during service in the further education teacher professions.

2. Entry into the FE Teaching Profession 2.1 Traditionally further education has had a much higher proportion of mature students entering the profession than other sectors of education. Many such entrants start their working life as part time lecturers in colleges whilst maintaining their full time employment or joining the college following an early retirement from industry. This gives colleges the opportunity to employ highly specialised staV with recent and relevant industrial commercial experience to meet short term teaching needs or, indeed, to fulﬁl teaching contracts where the specialised subjects require less contact hours than a full time post would warrant. This also enables colleges to meet peaks of demand for certain skills, such as plumbing in recent years, where it would not be possible to recruit full time members of staV because of skill shortages in the sector concerned.

2.2 For most of the teaching appointments the college requires a proven and successful track record in industry and commerce and therefore a demonstration of the professional and trade skills acquired during that period of employment, ranging from accountancy to brick laying and engineering to design. Entrants to the FE teaching profession therefore having gained not only academic qualiﬁcations but also vocational qualiﬁcations and skills within a working environment.

2.3 The rapidly changing nature of the skills market, the need for specialists to enter the profession for relatively short periods of teaching and the diversity of the subject/skills range in further education requires a ﬂexible system of teacher training which recognises such pressures and demands.

2.4 Demand for ITT courses has grown substantially this year, no doubt reﬂecting the economic situation and the perceived security of employment in the teaching profession. This will lead to many courses being over subscribed. Care must be taken not to oVer places on raw academic achievement, but that real talent, motivation and an awareness of what it means to be a teacher should be strong considerations in the process of selection.

2.5 To enable greater awareness of the role of an FE teacher, greater use could be made in some courses of work shadowing, volunteering and working as a classroom assistant prior to an oVer of a place on an ITT programme.

2.6 It is not unfair to say that in the early days some entrants to the more practical and “hands on” areas of FE teaching have been less than enthusiastic when confronted with what they regarded as highly theoretical content in course material or when they perceived that sophisticated written communication skills are required in coursework. This has meant that some recruitment campaigns in colleges in the past for example, Building Tutors, has faltered when the applicants perceived a large amount of theoretical and written work involved in the ITT course. This despite them having run a successful business and having all the technical skills to teach in, for example, brick laying or plastering. Many such entrants to ITT programmes have proved more than capable in handling all course requirements but it remains a problem of perception for some, although this seems to be coming less of a problem with time, acclimatisation to the requirements of the programmes and the growing conﬁdence in seeing others successfully completing the programmes. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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3. The Operation of ITT 3.1 The LLUK standards are a significant improvement on the FENTO requirements and provide the basis for professional practice. The IfL requirements for QTLS and CPD are welcomed as an enhancement to the professionalism of FE teachers. Whilst the six domains cover the principal functions of a teacher in the sector, a possible seventh domain covering explicitly the pastoral/tutorial role might be helpful rather than this function remaining implicit in the other modules. 3.2 FE Principals expressed strong support for a compulsory teaching qualification in the sector and such support has in no way diminished with time. Many Principals are becoming increasingly disappointed and indeed bemused that teaching in the post 16 sector requires qualification in either QTS or QTLS form. It is the practice in at least one HEI for the QTS and QTLS preparation to be combined in the course. Is there no way that the two qualifications can be combined or is there are some other reason as many principals believe, that it is really a matter relating to lack of “parity of esteem”? At the very least there should be transferability of QTLS to post 14 teaching in schools, just as there is for QTS in the FE sector. Otherwise, there is a possible danger in the quality of vocational teaching of diplomas in schools being compromised. 3.3 Further Education colleges have a long and proud tradition of oVering teacher training courses such as the old C&G 730 qualification. Many colleges have continued in this tradition by oVering and fully servicing the ITT courses. The arrangement of mentoring and teaching practice has not been too diYcult to arrange in such an “in house” environment, although subject specific mentoring can be a problem for already busy teachers. Whether such arrangements will continue to be as relatively easy as at present with the increased numbers of applicants, remains to be seen. Colleges do not oVer teaching hours to applicants as part of the course, as the individual is required to arrange their own teaching arrangement of 150 hours, although in practice many colleges have internal placement for employees or on a voluntary basis. 3.4 There are many examples of good practice in the partnerships between HEI’s and FE colleges. To refer to just one such relationship, Weston College delivers Cert. Ed/PGCE programmes in partnership with Bath Spa University. The relationship is a pro-active one, with the college ITT staV having ample opportunity to influence the content and delivery of the qualifications so that they meet the needs of the college and the sector. The partnership arrangement allows the college to interview and make oVers of a place on the course (subject to certain entry requirements). Some work needs to be done to ensure that relationships in all such partnerships are as positive as this one.

4. PPQ and CPD for Principals 4.1 Principals have welcomed the introduction of both the PPQ and CPD as both a proof of the professionalism with the most senior ranks of managers within FE and as a strategy for maintaining and enhancing standards amongst those who undertake one of the most demanding roles in education. 4.2 Those Principals who have completed the PPQ are warmly appreciative of the experience and insight they have gained. The flexibility of the programme and the concentration on the individual needs of the participant are particularly valued. 4.3 PPC has raised the question of whether there should be compulsory core elements in the programme, particularly in the Governance module where cases in the sector indicate there is still a large amount of uncertainty regarding the parameters of the roles of the Board, Chair and Principal. This uncertainty particularly manifests itself in the role of the Accounting OYcer in relationship to the roles of the others mentioned above. Increasing powers amongst other stakeholders in terms of helping to set the strategic direction of the college needs to be explored within the Governance module as part of defining roles and identifying possible friction points in terms of relationships. 4.4 CPD for Principals shares the same requirement as CPD for teachers in that it should be flexible and related to individuals’ needs. Experience of the individual must be taken into account in devising programmes which are specific to the Principal and which avoid any possibility of a mechanistic “tick the box” development. The availability of time is at a premium for Principals and CPD must be of the highest quality if Principals are not to become cynical about such a compulsory requirement. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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5. Summary 5.1 The existing system of in service ITT generally works well for the FE sector, allowing the degree of ﬂexibility required to meet fast changing skills needs. The changes mentioned above should be seen as enhancing current programmes rather than a requirement for substantial change. May 2009

Witnesses: Toni Fazaeli, Chief Executive, Institute for Learning, David Hunter, Chief Executive, Lifelong Learning UK, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE, Association of Colleges and Dr Michael Thrower, General Secretary, Principals’ Professional Council, gave evidence.

Chairman: May I welcome the witnesses for today’s trainers. We have good people coming in. We have session on the training of teachers, particularly in some special initiatives that intervene occasionally further education. We are very grateful that you have to increase that flow. come. Stella is making it even more diYcult for me to pronounce her name because she has moved her Q169 Chairman: Toni, how do you view it? name badge. I will try to pronounce it. Don’t be Toni Fazaeli: Well, we are the single professional oVended if I get it wrong. Stella Mbubaegbu—was body for teachers and trainers across further that right? education, so we are part of knitting together a Stella Mbubaegbu: Nearly. professional identity across the piece. Certainly, as Chairman: I will just call you Stella from now on. David said, the Ofsted inspection was hugely Stella Mbubaegbu: That is fine. encouraging about the quality of initial teacher Chairman: I also welcome Toni Fazaeli, David training and the capacity for teachers and trainers to Hunter and Michael Thrower. I note that we have no improve and to commit to their own continuing gatherers; only hunters and throwers. professional development. We have a large Dr Thrower: I haven’t heard that one. membership, which has gone up slightly since the Chairman: No, I’m sure you haven’t—you Hunters written evidence— there are about 189,000 members and Throwers are not often together. now. As David said, the Institute for Learning gives Dr Thrower: Absolutely. an opportunity to communicate and share information and bring teachers and trainers together around that professional identity in relation to Q167 Chairman: Let’s get started. The Committee is further education and skills for the needs of the only as good as the evidence that is presented to it. economy. This is a wide-ranging review of the training of teachers, which we want to be good. In parallel and Q170 Chairman: Sorry, can the volume to be turned independently,we are reviewing the training of social up slightly—this is a strange room. Stella, you are workers. It is interesting to compare one with the the person with hands-on experience in terms of other. We were looking at the other side last week. running a real college and you have a very diverse Would you like to open up the discussion, go straight experience in this area. What is your view? Teachers into questions or have a mixture of both? David, who train in FE cannot teach in schools, can they? what is your wish? Stella Mbubaegbu: As you know, I am principal of a David Hunter: I am happy whichever way you want large college. I have 741 members of staV. to do it. Chairman: Can someone turn up the volume a bit? Is it as high as it can go? Can we turn you, Toni, slightly towards David, and Stella slightly towards you? Q168 Chairman: I will give each of you a chance to That is better. Can you all lean forward a bit when say something. It is said that the training of teachers you speak because it’s a really strange room. Sorry in FE is a bit untidy. Is that a fair criticism? You can about that, Stella. be untidy and eYcient. You can produce a good Stella Mbubaegbu: Please can you repeat your product even though your history is diVerent from question? other ways of training teachers. Is that a real challenge in the training of teachers in FE, or should Q171 Chairman: You have all this experience as a we be totally content with how it is done? principal of a college. Do you think that changes David Hunter: I think we should be very pleased with should be made? For example, I just pointed out that the way it has developed since it was reformed. We a trained teacher who can teach in an FE college have very good Ofsted inspections and a system that cannot teach in a school, can they? seems to work with the dual professionalism. The Stella Mbubaegbu: They cannot. I think that there average age of somebody coming into the FE system needs to be a change there because there is no reason is about 37. They come in with a career path and a why there should not be transferability between the profession already. There is flexibility in how and two sectors. It currently goes one way: from the where they can train. We are getting a good product schools to FE. In my college, we employ 741 at the other end. If you see it through the lens of the members of staV. We are also a major provider of skills needs of the country, these are the sorts of initial teacher training ourselves. Looking both as an people you need if you are going to have a world- employer and as someone who provides teacher class work force. You must have world-class training, with that experience, we can see that what Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower we have currently does meet the needs of our own looking to get somebody from the building industry teachers in terms of the dual professionalism about to teach bricklaying or joinery or somebody to teach which David has talked. The skill is teaching, and we car mechanics, you need a diVerent set of skills from should focus on that and the professional practice. I those who are going to teach computers or graphic agree that there should be parity of esteem and design. Is that still true, or is it not true anymore? transferability. David Hunter: It is absolutely true. The number of professional backgrounds that people come into the Q172 Chairman: Michael, what is your take on all sector from is amazing. That is the richness of it, so of this? it is absolutely true. Dr Thrower: I represent the Principals’ Professional Council, Chairman. Before that, I was a principal But does that present a problem for 20 years. Perhaps I could answer your first Q174 Paul Holmes: regarding what Michael was saying? I have talked to question about it being untidy. I think that a lot of college principals as recently as in the last two years people think that something is untidy when it is who have said that they have problems getting in to really flexible. That is a point on which I agree with teach people who are from the building trades and David. You need flexibility because you have got things like that. So, they are often looking for people diVerent kinds of people coming into FE teaching who have worked in the building trade for a long from those coming into schools teaching. That does time, and they, eVectively, want to bring them oV the not mean to say that they become diVerent teachers, building site and into the college. If you ask them to but that they were diVerent people to start with. pass the teaching training qualifications that you are Often, they come in as part time or on a taster basis talking about in other areas, it will deter them from because they think they would like to get a little bit making that move. So, is that a problem, and can we of teaching—particularly in their own field, which get round it? could be professional, trade or whatever. The flexibility of our training in further education is David Hunter: There are often local issues, but from absolutely first rate and all the principals support our point of view, in Lifelong Learning UK, there is that. They also support, of course, the a national context. We have a special scheme, “Pass qualification—not only for the teachers, but for on your Skills”, to recruit people from construction, IT or other deficit areas where we do not have themselves. There is a lot of support for that. I would V just like to comment on the question of teachers in enough sta , to have that national intervention. FE. For the 20 years that I was a principal, I fought That is quite critical. The other national intervention very hard for parity of esteem between academic and we have is the professional upgrading of FE teachers vocational education, but generally it was without to ensure that they are up to match with the latest much success. I see this as yet another example of developments. None the less, it is critical. that lack of parity of esteem. I can think of no Toni Fazaeli: I think that it is interesting to take professional reason why an FE teacher cannot teach stock and look at the schoolteachers and the in a school with their qualification, whereas evidence that we have of those who move over to somebody from a school can teach in FE. This is not further education. What they say—LLUK has been very active in this research—is that there are some new. It is four years since I was a principal, but eight V V years ago, we had something like 500 14-year-olds in di erences of contexts, and di erences in our college. So, it is not new. How on earth can you curriculum, age groups, range of qualifications and, logically defend something like that?1 Sadly, I think to some extent, vocabulary. But, with good there is another reason. I will not go down the parity induction and good orientation—LLUK has of esteem argument because people can judge that developed a support programme for that for themselves. It is also a question about pay. orientation—that can work well. So, what we are Teachers in FE are traditionally 10% below. If you talking about is probably that a transfer from gave them the same teaching qualification, you further education to schools is a similar arrangement would have to pay them the same. I think that that for orientation, but the standards of being a is a factor. professional teacher in further education or a professional teacher in schools are very closely Chairman: I thank all of you for that. That has got aligned, even though the contexts are distinct and us started. Now, let us get on with drilling down into V the questions, and ask Paul to lead us on di erent, as David and others on the panel have said. schoolteachers’ and FE teachers’ roles. There is a golden opportunity for us at this point, following the reforms of initial teacher training, because we have qualifications and standards that Just to pick up on what we just Q173 Paul Holmes: are fit for purpose, which we did not have in 2003. heard, over many years, I have been into a lot of FE We have the green light from Ofsted about the colleges. When I was head of a sixth form, we had a quality and eVectiveness of that initial teacher partnership with our local college—that was back in training and the equivalence, therefore, of QTS (the the 1980s. I have also visited a lot as a member of this school teacher qualification of qualified teacher Committee. One of the things that people have often status) and the DTLLS (the diploma in teaching in said over those years is that there are some areas of the lifelong learning sector), the advanced what FE colleges deliver that are diVerent. If you are qualification for further education teachers And 1 Note by witness: How can you logically defend school then the NQT, the newly qualified teachers, in the teachers teaching in FE but not FE teachers teaching in first year in schools and the QTLS, the qualified schools. teacher learning and skills status that the Institute Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower for Learning awards, which is after a successful jointly by the HEIs and the colleges. Indeed, just to induction and evidence of eVective practice. So, we show that there is no problem with the two areinadiVerent place collectively than, perhaps, if qualifications being merged, one HEI— the question was asked four years ago. We have the Canterbury—teaches both on the same course. So means to do this and with the very recent Ofsted you can do it. report, we have rock-solid evidence about the V e ectiveness and the quality of the training. Q176 Paul Holmes: Going to the other end, then, because one of you—I think it was Michael—made the point that we supposedly have all this movement Q175 Paul Holmes: Michael and Stella, is there a specific problem? I talked to somebody last year, I at 14 to 19, which is seen as one phase rather than think it was, who was 50-odd and had worked in the something that breaks at 16, there are a lot more building trade all their life and they said, “Well, I’ve schools with diplomas starting to look more at taken a pay cut to come and work in the college—to teaching vocational courses within school and lots teach the building trades—but I am 50-odd and I’m more kids moving between school and college and getting past the point where I want to be getting up doing part of the week in each. It would make at 7 am and working in the freezing cold on an open absolute sense, surely,for teachers to be able to move building site. I am willing to take the pay cut to do into college easily and for college teachers to move something diVerent for the last part of my career and into school easily. You said something intriguing. my professional life.” But these are not the sort of Apart from the fact about pay— people who will automatically fit in easily to teacher Dr Thrower: That was naughty of me: I apologise. training, of whatever description. Is that still a problem and would it deter the people being brought Q177 Paul Holmes: But were there other reasons in to teach car mechanics or the building trades? why you think people oppose the fluidity of Stella Mbubaegbu: In our case, that is not so. We movement between the two, other than the fact that have a whole range of diVerent professionals from you would have to up college lecturers’ pay? the construction and building services—whether Dr Thrower: I think, Chairman, that if you look at retired or younger people—and it is a first choice for the traditional school-based teacher training, it is them. They are not necessarily at the end of their highly formalised and set on the basis of full-time career: they are mid-career or are coming with the study, to a large extent—although not wholly, of professional skills and they want to change career or course—and seems to lack the flexibility and fluidity put something back into the system. Certainly, in my in the FE teacher training programmes. I think that college they are coming forward for the training that that might be a stumbling block for the more we run, including “Tips for teachers”, which they traditional teacher training. I think that will change; take as an induction, then the PTLLS programme, indeed, it is already changing quite fast, and I think and then they go on. So I find that that is not really we can overestimate the amount of diYculty the case. They want to be excellent teachers and they between the two sectors. I would finish by saying come forward, whether from my college or from that the parity of esteem is still a problem. Sadly, local colleges for which we are running the training. there is still an issue, even after all these years, In terms of the standards and what is happening in between so-called academic and vocational respect of professionalism and the education. Anybody who thinks that some courses professionalisation of teaching in FE, the lecturers in an FE college are not academic has never taken are welcoming that and are seeing this as a way the professional accountancy courses for example. forward for themselves. So I would say that that is You have got a wide range, and I think that they are not exactly the case in practice. comparable and that they live side by side very easily. Dr Thrower: I think it was a problem initially, when Chairman: We would have thought that the diploma ITT courses were introduced. City College Brighton, was the very thing to bring all these together and sort for example, had a large programme of enrolling it all out, but we will drill down into that later. John, plumbing teachers at that time and then it lost a lot you are going to talk about vocational skills and the of them because they were not prepared to take the provision of those at 14 to 16. teacher training courses. I think that has changed, and it has changed for a number of reasons. A lot of Q178 Mr Heppell: This overlaps a bit with what has the courses were being validated and assessed by just been said. How do schools and colleges staV up higher education institutions and a lot of the colleges their vocational courses? Are we literally talking working with the FE colleges and the HE about two completely separate systems? Am I right institutions tried to get them to alter their academic to think that? I am getting a couple of nods, but assessments. They wrote the assessments in a very nobody is answering. Is it really a case of the parent academic fashion and that has led to a greater having to choose? If someone wants vocational collaboration between the HEIs and the colleges, training, is there a choice between the vocational where the colleges are saying, “You can’t write them training they would receive at a school and the in that way. You’ve got to write them in a more vocational training they would receive at a college, practical way.” That has not led to a diminution of with people with completely diVerent qualifications quality: quite the reverse. In fact, it has meant that on both courses? you are now getting a lot of people on the so-called David Hunter: It depends on the local consortia trade courses who are coming forward with great arrangements, and they are critical to the success of success on the programmes that are being developed all this. 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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower good working relationships so that youngsters can Q180 Mr Heppell: Why have the regulations not move from school into college and get adequate changed? Why have the DCSF and the Department support there. What you do not want to have in this for Innovation, Universities and Skills not said, situation is a person teaching them who is only a “Now is the time to review these regulations. We see page ahead of them. In my experience, from previous that there is a problem and a diYculty.”? Why have iterations of diploma-like developments, and having they not just done that? gone from a college to teach in a school, I found that Toni Fazaeli: I don’t know. Both Departments are they were coming out with the same qualification, aware of it. but that what they were getting in college—health Chairman: Stella is keen to tell us. and social care was the area I was interested in, and Stella Mbubaegbu: I was just saying that they are they were being taught by social workers, nurses and well aware of what the issues are. so on—was a much better learning experience because of the expertise, rather than learning from a school teacher who, in my experience, was a Q181 Chairman: Stella, is it true that if you are a domestic science teacher who was a page ahead in primary school teacher, you can teach in FE? the book. We do not want to see that again, so it is Stella Mbubaegbu: If you are primary school absolutely critical that you bring in vocational and teacher— professional experience so that young people get the If you qualified as a primary school real learning experience. It is important to get the Chairman: teacher, you can teach in FE. That qualifies you, balance right between schools and colleges. doesn’t it? Stella Mbubaegbu: Yes. Q179 Mr Heppell: If that is the case, surely there is a Chairman: I was just wondering if we could get that need to introduce that expertise. I agree with you: I on the record. am an ex-apprentice and I remember moving from Mr Heppell: I hadn’t realised that. Thank you, school to college, having somebody who was Chairman, that’s an interesting point. eVectively an engineer teaching us stuV and suddenly Chairman: That’s the only time you have thanked understanding it. I do not know whether it was him me so far. or me, but suddenly I understood things I had not understood at school, because there was a sort of practical knowledge there that spilled over, as you Q182 Mr Heppell: It’s about the only thanks you are were saying. Are not those learning in schools losing likely to get today, I think—sorry, that’s a private out on something because they are not getting that thing. Ofsted noticed as far back as 2003 that further vocational skill passed on to them in their courses? education teachers were inadequately prepared to How could the regulations be changed to allow those teach 14 to 16-year-old learners. There is some people to go into schools? evidence to suggest that that might be the case. David Hunter: There are something like 30,000 or Should that not be a central part of the initial teacher 2 40,000 pupils from schools every week in colleges. training that further education teachers get? The number is significant; in fact it is probably more Toni Fazaeli: The Ofsted report published this year, Y than that. It works that way, but the di culty is with which looked at the four-year cycle, commented that FE teachers moving into schools—I was lucky to be the arrangements were eVective for new policy able to do that because I am a school teacher as well. developments, including for 14 to 19. There might be We come back to the issue, which we have to solve, of anecdotal evidence in some areas of it not being having that parity of esteem. Interestingly, Northern perfect, but the overall judgment is robust on that. It Ireland has a solution, although it is not a perfect states that 14 to 19 is featuring in the preparation. solution. FE teachers must do a university CertEd May I say more about primary school teachers and then they can go on to do the diploma. If they do that, they can teach in schools, and they can then moving into further education. Since September move on to do a masters in their specialist area or in 2007, new entrants to further education can move management. That is the mechanism in Northern over from a school teacher background and Ireland to solve this problem, but we do not quite qualifications, but they are required within a certain have it here yet. period to gain the QTLS with the Institute for Learning. That is evidence that they can practise in Chairman: Toni, you look keen to come in. Toni Fazaeli: I just want to draw attention to some the FE context. They can begin practising, but they work we are doing with the General Teaching do not have the full professional standing and licence Council. The possibility of an assessment route is to practise until they get the QTLS. That is only for being explored, so that for those teachers in further new entrants since September 2007. education, there is an opportunity, through an Chairman: Let us move on. I try to give all witnesses assessment of prior learning and evidence of a fair chance to contribute, so do catch my eye. teaching practice, to be able to move into schools Stella, I notice that they are shoving you over to one more readily.The big question for all of us is: to what side and I will not let them do it. Edward, you are extent would regulations for school teaching need to next. No, you are not; it is Graham on initial teacher change in order for that porous arrangement to training provision for FE teachers. My apologies, work two ways rather than just one way. Graham. Mr Stuart: No apology is necessary, Chairman. You 2 Note by Witness: The correct figure is 80,000. will get plenty of thanks from me. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower

Chairman: I don’t really believe that. subjects because they would not be economically viable, or you could have a concentration of centres. A lot of those who are in training, specifically in Q183 Mr Stuart: Some people suggest that skills teachers can find the new qualifications overly service training, will be teaching after 5 o’clock, so they are not going to drive 30-odd miles to find a academic. Stella, could you tell us the ways in which V the vocational diploma and teaching programmes centre that o ers something for their own vocational developed by Lewisham College, for example, diVer area. FE is diverse—it goes from journalism to from other diploma and teaching programmes? construction, painting and decorating, art and Stella Mbubaegbu: The programme developed by design, and hair and beauty. I do not see how we Lewisham College focuses on construction teachers. could have that range across the whole country that is fully vocationalised. In the design of each That means that the training is totally contextualised V to that particular vocational area. At Highbury, the programme o ered by each provider, there is ample diploma in teaching in the lifelong learning sector room for contextualisation to support the teachers. programme is generic, but we also run a fully contextualised programme for the Academy of Contemporary Music where there is a critical mass of teachers from one particular institution, so you can contextualise totally. The point is that if you did Q185 Mr Stuart: If everybody is joining David’s not have that critical mass, it would not be viable to nod, I probably don’t need to pursue that any fully contextualise. For example, each year at further. The Audit Commission has repeatedly Highbury, in a cohort of about 120 teachers, there found that mentoring is not provided in the way that may be three on a construction programme. it would like. What is to be done to address the poor However, the new qualifications have enabled, quality of mentoring and to improve it? within the assessments regimes and the assignments, Stella Mbubaegbu: I have suggested already that the a full contextualisation linked to that particular colleges bear and absorb the cost of the mentors. I vocational area for the diverse range of teachers. suggest that you find some way of rewarding those Also within the programme, there is specific subject subject mentors through the performance review sector mentoring. That enables every single teacher system. It is a greater problem for the private to have somebody who is a specialist in their subject training providers and those outside, as I said. They as their mentor. That is a critical part of the are smaller and it is more diYcult for them to find programme. There is an issue in terms of mentoring those specialists to mentor, and it becomes an issue outside the college sector with private training of cost. In terms of the support, it would be good if providers or in some contexts in the NHS. Because the £30 million that was provided to support teacher there is not the funding to pay the subject sector training right across the country continued, and if it mentors, it becomes much more diYcult for their was not just a one-oV, so that we can really employer to support those who are in training. But remunerate mentors, because they are critical to the in terms of the programme, it is up to the subject delivery of the programme. sector mentors, through the assessments and assignments, to provide that contextualisation. The observation of the teaching of those in training is also totally within their vocational context. Q186 Mr Stuart: Yes. If the mentoring role was more Q184 Mr Stuart: Thank you for that very full formalised, with national guidelines and ring-fenced answer, which neatly answers the question I was funding, do you think that the quality is more likely going to ask next. Taking you back, how much of a to be generally higher? problem is it? You have said that you are finding a Stella Mbubaegbu: Yes. There are already mentoring way around it, and obviously Lewisham has done qualifications, and we oVer them to the mentors. something, but the good people at Barton Peveril They are national qualifications, and it would be College, for instance, suggest that it is none the less excellent to have ring-fenced funding to support an issue and that, broadly speaking, the that. implementation of the current qualifications leads Dr Thrower: MayIoVer a quick caveat to what for many people, in reality, to its being overly Stella has said. I agree entirely with what she said, academic. Is it a matter of developing the but it also depends upon the growth of the sector. All workarounds so that everyone will be able to do it, the signs are, the economic situation being what it is, in which case it is not a fundamental problem, or that there will be a large number of applicants, and could we hear in a few years’ time that the problem courses are perhaps going to be run at much higher is continuing? numbers. If that is the case, then I think it is critical Stella Mbubaegbu: I do not believe that it is a that the money continues; and it is also important fundamental problem. The standards are very clear that we recognise that some of the people doing the in the design of the programme. Within the design, it mentoring are often—because that is what we want is possible to be fully within your own context, to see—our best people. They tend to be the highest- because that is where the teaching practice is coming loaded people in teaching. It is therefore important from. Teacher trainers can work within that context to understand that that has to be taken somehow and, as I said, it would be very diYcult to develop into account in the mentoring process. Having said right across a whole suite of vocationally specific that— Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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Q187 Mr Stuart: Is that a money issue again? so on. There is that professional thing; then, there are Dr Thrower: Ultimately, it has to be, because you the teaching skills. With the whole emphasis on have to free up people from their normal duties and teaching and learning in colleges, there is a big commitment. It is a money situation. Having said all emphasis on assessment for learning, for example, so that, I agree with Stella that it is a problem that is that would improve teaching skills. Thirdly, we being resolved. would look at reflective practice. So it is high-quality Chairman: I’m sorry, Toni. I did say I would call CPD—because of this dour professionalism, we find you next. that CPD is taken very seriously in our sector. Toni Fazaeli: As part of remaining in good standing, David Hunter: I would just like to say that the 11 the members of the professional body—the Institute centres of excellence in teacher training are essential for Learning—have to carry out a certain amount of in this process in supporting this sort of development continuing professional development each year. and that their three-year funding is coming to an Mentoring is a really powerful way, both for the end. It is critical that some thought is given to mentor and the mentee—with them looking at that continuing that. We have had some case studies done as part of their professional development. We are by Sunderland university and they show just how certainly encouraging our members to think in those well these work in practice. sorts of terms, and of the benefits for them as professionals to have that role. There is an issue Q190 Annette Brooke: I wondered if we could talk about time, which we get from our members. specifically about sixth-form colleges. Any However willing and committed individual teachers comments you could make on that part of the sector are, both to help themselves and to help others, there would be helpful. In particular, why might a teacher are often pressures of timetabling, covering for V working in a sixth-form college choose to register colleagues who are o sick, teaching on a new with the General Teaching Council rather than the qualification and so on. Occasionally, we get Institute for Learning? May I start by asking Toni feedback that continuing professional development about that? feels almost like a punishment—that on top of all Toni Fazaeli: Sixth-form college teachers have the those other things, they need to do CPD. There is a choice of joining GTC and/or the Institute for great thirst for and interest in CPD, but sometimes Learning and a large number of the teachers in sixth- the local arrangements and the pressures on teachers Y form colleges, but not all by any means, started their make that very di cult to bring to a reality. I think careers as schoolteachers and identify with the that it is time; others have referred to funding—time school sector. The Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum was certainly creates much pressure. concerned not about the policy of teachers having the choice, but that DIUS would pay for the Q188 Chairman: Is CPD what has been described as membership of the IfL but would not pay, and “Death by PowerPoint”, or is it good CPD in your neither would DCSF pay, for membership of the sector? GTC. They feel that it is good that there is choice Toni Fazaeli: Well, we have a philosophy that it is and the policy choice, but they want to negotiate and very much the individual professional driving their hope to succeed, so that there will also be payment own continuing professional development, rather for teachers in sixth form colleges to join GTC or than its being a set series of courses or actions at a IfL. From IfL’s point of view, teachers in sixth-form college or provider. It should not be death by colleges are very welcome to join IfL. We have over PowerPoint, because individual teachers and 1,000 members from sixth-form colleges, and trainers will be making their choice about what is looking at the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum useful for them, and being very discerning. prospectus and its own analysis of the provision, about a quarter of the provision in sixth-form colleges is not A-levels but is vocational courses and Q189 Chairman: So you are happy with the quality of provision, and the quality of choices that your lower-level programmes of various kinds. So it is a work force make? broad church. Some sixth-form colleges would be Toni Fazaeli: I am saying that our members should much more similar to a school, while others are akin be very exacting about what they are looking for— to a vocational further education college. The what they need and the standards that they expect principle of the individual teacher having the choice from any provider of CPD programmes. It is an to join IfL or GTC is where the policy decision lies important role that I play, in helping to strengthen and we are supportive of that. Of course, as Stella their arm in terms of being demanding. In the same said, with dual professionalism—as well as teachers way,we all want pupils and learners to be demanding being members of their own professional body, of the system; so, too, for the professionals. linking with engineering, law or whatever—there Stella Mbubaegbu: We have been doing CPD in three would be no reason why teachers could not be diVerent ways. First, there is the professional members of GTC and IfL and get the dual benefits. practice. A lot of our teachers, as you well know, are fully qualified in their own profession, so their Q191 Chairman: Would they have to pay a double professional organisation will expect CPD from fee? them. Some are legal requirements. For example, Toni Fazaeli: They would need to pay one fee, health workers have to have their CPD annually, as because DIUS would pay for the fee for IfL, in the do hair and beauty people. Our journalists will go current policy position. Our fees are £30 and the and work in a newsroom, or with a newspaper, and GTC fee is currently £33. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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Q192 Annette Brooke: May I just pursue that? What formalised continuing professional development for was the policy decision behind DIUS paying for a teacher in a school setting, what lessons could they membership of your institute? learn from your programme and the way you Toni Fazaeli: For the IfL? Because of covering the approach it? further education sector, its remit covered sixth- Toni Fazaeli: In terms of the IfL membership, this is form colleges, further education colleges, work- the first year of the requirement for a full-time based training and adult and community learning. teacher to have at least 30 hours of continuing That was its footprint, so GTC, which is obviously professional development. We opened up the schools-facing, was part of the schools declaration on Friday, and we have already had arrangements, rather than further education. about 800 people who have declared their CPD— However, in recognition of the choice, it did not that was the latest figure I had, and it has probably want to have a restrictive policy that would prevent gone up. The closing date is not until 31 August. At or not make it possible for teachers to join GTC, but that time, and in the autumn when we do the to enshrine that element of choice for individual analysis, I hope there will be some rich and teachers. That is my understanding of the interesting findings from individual professionals department’s position. There have been negotiations about how they plan, design and develop their own from the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum and that has CPD, as well as what their college or provider might not yet concluded; as I understand, it is going to oVer. In the autumn we should have some valuable Ministers. IfL and the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum research evidence on the nature of the CPD that work closely together. We have just issued a joint teachers are undertaking and, crucially, what letter to sixth-form college principals, on 5 June, diVerence it makes and how it is impacting on and explaining that the policy position is the same but as benefiting learners. The commitment for individuals yet, the negotiations have not concluded in the way can remain in good standing by maintaining CPD. that the Sixth Form Colleges’ Forum would like. It As Stella said, that model of professionalism was is a bit of a complicated story but I hope that is clear very common across lots of professional bodies. and I have answered your questions. That is where the IfL is located. Chairman: David, did you want to come in on this? Q193 Annette Brooke: I am not quite sure what the David Hunter: If you are teaching a particular rationale was for DIUS being so kind to you in the diploma in a particular line of learning, I think it can first place. be very useful for schools to have the opportunity to Toni Fazaeli: We have over 1,000 members who go to a business or industry involved in that area and wanted to join the IfL and there are probably many pick up the latest developments. We have that in more. At the moment, there are around 8,000 further education for professional staV; it is called teachers in the sixth-form colleges that are neither “Business Interchange”. They are able to go and members of the IfL nor the GTC. We do not know spend anything up to a number of months just yet what the proportions might be in terms of professionally updating, on our side of the fence. membership of each. However, on the other side of the fence in the Q194 Annette Brooke: Is it common for an employer schools, you could pick up what the latest to pay the professional fees across other sectors? development is in construction, built environment, Toni Fazaeli: I think there is a range, where health, social care, and so on. That would really help individuals pay and where employers pay. The the diploma situation. If there were a national Government pay for GTC and IfL fees. scheme running like ours, that would be a good move. Q195 Annette Brooke: I will just move on from that. We have obviously touched on continuing Q197 Mr Timpson: I have a couple of questions professional development and perhaps I will ask my about the licence to practise system for further question the other way around. We have been education teachers that was brought in by the 2007 talking about a more formal continuing professional regulations. I want to try and get to the bottom of development programme in a school setting. What why it was brought in. What was the point? What would you suggest that teachers in schools—or were the principal objectives of bringing in that programmes for teachers in schools—could learn system? from the way your sector is operating continuing David Hunter: I will start. It was about professional development? professionalising the sector. It had been traditionally Chairman: Any oVers on that? a little bit ad hoc in England, in that people came in Toni Fazaeli: I will have a go for the panel, shall I? Is and taught. The system was about the profession of the question how schools could benefit—is that the the FE teacher. That is something worth doing, direction—from working closely with further because there are particular skills in imparting and education teachers? enabling knowledge to be transferred and supported—starting where the student is, and so on. Q196 Annette Brooke: No. Obviously, having a Those skills are critical to the success of being a good requirement for 30 hours of continuous adult education teacher. development—in response to the Chairman’s Toni Fazaeli: The licence to practise is based on a questions just now, you were suggesting that this was professional not being fully equipped with the initial good, high-quality and monitored well. As a training—that it is an ongoing professional Committee, if we were to recommend a more journey—and so continuing development is a vital Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower hallmark of a professional practitioner. The licence Q200 Chairman: How good are the principals who to practise, therefore, is keeping that fresh and are coming through? What is the quality like? keeping good standing in the profession by meeting Dr Thrower: Oh, fantastic. the CPD requirements. Q201 Chairman: Michael, you complained about Q198 Mr Timpson: Is it achieving—it is still early lower salaries in the further education sector days—what the objectives were in the initial generally. It seems to me that principals are rather evidence? generously paid, by and large. Do they deserve the Stella Mbubaegbu: It is early days. However, as I very high pay that they get, and what is their said, our teachers are welcoming that opportunity to training? have the teaching side of their profession recognised. Dr Thrower: I will rise to your last point first, if I Toni Fazaeli: We also hear from our members that may. For the job that they do, they are adequately many have found it really helpful to have that paid, I believe, because it is a tough job and it is commitment written out, so that when they are getting tougher all the time. To take the general point talking back in the college or the provider, there is a that you are making, I think that they welcomed first sense of its being central for them and their employer the professional qualification and then CPD. The that they should get CPD. They can, therefore, keep only comment I would make—I think I put this in up to date with new technologies and new teaching my evidence—is about CPD for principals. I know methods, and in their subject areas. Before, it would that this will surprise you, Chairman, but they are a probably have been very much up to the individual rather cynical bunch. If principals see that CPD is to make the case; now, collectively and in the policy, not relevant to their individual needs, particularly those reforms make the case for why that is with the kind of time constraints that most of them important. It has been welcomed by teachers. now have, very quickly it will fall into box-ticking, Stella Mbubaegbu: If I may add, because we are and that would be a great pity. I would say that we training providers, you will find that good FE have to maintain flexibility. We have to retain institutions are broadening that CPD requirement reflective practice for teachers but also for beyond the policy to all the staV—the 30 hours— principals. They have to reflect on the job that they are doing. I know that everybody claims that their within their own organisations. Certainly in my V organisation, we have gone beyond the policy: CPD institution is di erent, but there is a vast range in is not just for teachers, it is for all staV. colleges, as you know only too well, so you need to be not too prescriptive about the kind of CPD that you are requiring for practice. Q199 Mr Timpson: Who is paying for all this? It is costing money. Have you any figures that you can Q202 Chairman: Just to finish, I have a question for give us with associated costs for colleges for the the three of you—not Michael, because I pulled him system? out on the principals question. You sound as though Stella Mbubaegbu: It is the £30 million—that is what you believe that everything is more or less as it is being brought in—that was provided by should be in your sector. I am not saying that you are Government. However, as I said, institutions are complacent, but you are slightly conservative about V bearing the costs for their own sta development. It the challenges ahead. Are there other things that you is good practice—as an employer you would fund think should change, and should change very soon? CPD for your staV whether it be in-house or people Could things be better than they are at the moment? going on secondments into industry, or whether it be I will start with Toni. whole staV training days. There is a range of training Toni Fazaeli: I go back to my earlier point about the that is not just dependent on the £30 million, which time pressures that teachers are under, the amount of is really just a drop in the ocean. timetabled contact time and the arrangements for Dr Thrower: I think it is fair to say that if there was covering colleagues if they are sick, which often a criticism about further education about a decade means even more of a teaching commitment. Quite or so back—and I could go back further, but I will a lot of teachers talk about the various systems and not bother you with that—it was that there were very the requirements that they need to complete for good people entering FE, with recent and up-to-date awarding bodies or for internal college or provider experience and skills, but if they remained in further arrangements. There is a lot of pressure on teachers, education, those skills inevitably became tired and so even though they can be very committed to their dated. To take just one example, my old college ran own training, to mentoring others and to their own aeronautical engineering courses. You can imagine CPD, in practice that often gets squeezed because the pace of change within that sector. A lot of the they are so committed to the learners. Looking teachers in further education welcome the forward, and given the wider financial pressures on opportunity not only to legitimise their teaching the sector, I am gloomy in the sense that I think skills and continue to get them to a high standard things are likely to get harder and worse for and keep them there, but also to go out to industry— professional teachers than they are now. We know— the scheme that David mentioned earlier—and get the Ofsted report highlights this, too—that time is six months or so back in industry to refresh all those not always set aside for support for trainee teachers. skills. That is absolutely vital in further education. It So too it is for teachers during the rest of their is vital in every profession, but it is so important in professional career. As David said, that price is too further education. high for the nation to pay. If we have aeronautical Processed: 03-02-2010 18:36:34 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG4

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8 June 2009 Toni Fazaeli, David Hunter, Stella Mbubaegbu CBE and Dr Michael Thrower engineers who are four years out of date, that is not these sectors. We had that some years ago around the helping the next generation of trainees and students standards fund, which enabled us to keep CPD and that they are working with. Our teachers and training going as ring-fenced funded activities. trainers need to be leading-edge in their field because David Hunter: One of the important things for they are training the next generation. Lifelong Learning UK as a sector skills council working with all the other sector skills councils and as a broker between demand and supply for Q203 Chairman: Surely they should have up-to-date education and training is keeping an eye on the latest relationships—never mind CPD—with local developments in terms of the qualifications and new businesses. They should be exchanging personnel skills that are required as we come out of the very and other innovative things. diYcult circumstances we are in. If your plumber is Toni Fazaeli: Yes. going to become a solar engineer, we have to make sure that there are people who can teach solar engineering in further and higher education or Q204 Chairman: I’m sorry,Stella, do you want to say anywhere else. That is just an exemplar, but that is anything in response to my suggestion that you the fast-changing world we are in, so it is vital that might be a little complacent about the need for we have people who can deliver the training in change? colleges to support all the changes that are Stella Mbubaegbu: I don’t think we are complacent. happening. It is critical for us to ensure that that is We have talked about the need for the transferability happening and that people can deliver a world-class of qualifications between sectors and about parity of work force. esteem. As an employer, I would worry about losing Chairman: David, let us hope that Lord Mandelson staV to a sector that is better paid, but as a matter of hears what you say and that the new Department principle, there should be transferability. As a will respond to that challenge. I thank you for your nation, we cannot aVord to allow the huge cost of evidence today. It has been very stimulating and keeping up to date with CPD to be borne by useful and it will help us with our inquiry. If there are individual institutions, with training becoming the things that we should have asked you or that you one thing that is cut in hard times. Perhaps we could should have told us, please get in touch with us. find a way of ring-fencing funding for training in Thank you very much. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:23 Page Layout: COENEW [SO] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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Monday 15 June 2009

Members present Mr Barry Sheerman (Chairman)

Annette Brooke Mr Graham Stuart Paul Holmes Mr Edward Timpson Fiona Mactaggart

Memorandum submitted by the Training and Development Agency for Schools Summary — The TDA is the national agency responsible for the training and development of the school workforce. — The TDA approves monitors and, on occasions, removes approval, for the 240 organisations that train new teachers. — The TDA’s role in professional development is to create the conditions for eVective CPD. — The reports of Ofsted’s inspection of the quality of schools oVers the main means of measuring the quality of teaching. — Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers have to meet the Secretary of State’s Requirements for ITT in order to retain their accreditation. — Guidance has been developed with providers on expectations for both self-evaluation and how Ofsted measures quality. — The TDA gives greater priority for additional ITT places and funding and greater protection against reductions in ITT places to ITT providers in higher quality categories. — The 2008–09 census showed that the TDA had met its targets for under-represented groups in initial teacher training. — Currently in excess of 85% of trainees train in universities or colleges but nearly two thirds of a trainee’s time on a one-year post-graduate course is spent in the classroom. — The TDA is introducing a range of incentives to encourage more high quality teachers to apply for posts in the most challenging schools and to retain the best teachers already operating in these schools. — With the agreement of Ofsted the TDA has introduced “innovation status” which allows training providers the scope to take risks while removing that element of provision from inspection. — The current partnership model remains eVective in meeting the needs of initial teacher training. — Since 1992 recruitment to teacher training has increased by over 40%. — TDA is remitted to stimulate informed demand for CPD, bring coherence to CPD by providing leadership to local authorities and guidance to schools and ensure CPD meets the needs of teachers and schools. — The TDA is developing the Masters in Teaching and Learning, which will initially be aimed at teachers in the ﬁrst ﬁve years of their career. — Ofsted found that CPD was most eVective in schools whose senior managers understood fully its potential for raising standards and were committed to using it as key driver for school improvement. — Teachers in their induction year are entitled to a timetable with 10% non-contact time in addition to 10% planning, preparation and assessment time. — The TDA is piloting a national database of CPD provision.

Training and Development Agency for Schools 1. The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) is the national agency and recognised sector body responsible for the training and development of the school workforce. It is a non-Departmental public body (NDPB). 2. The TDA is clear that improving the quality of teaching and learning is the most eVective way of raising educational achievement and closing the gap in attainment. Its vision is that all schools can recruit, develop and deploy eVectively the highly skilled workforce (including teachers) that they need, through our work in securing the supply of high quality recruits and helping schools to develop and deploy their workforces. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:23 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 174 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

3. A key task for the TDA is securing high quality initial teacher training. It approves and, on occasions, removes approval from the 240 organisations that train new teachers. It allocates funds to these organisations to purchase training using Ofsted-derived quality ratings to drive up quality by linking places and funding to these ratings. 4. The TDA’s role in professional development is diVerent, as budgets are held by schools and decisions are made at school level. The TDA’s main role in CPD is to create the conditions for eVective development by providing standards and guidance to local authorities and schools for induction and professional development. It supports eVective development through setting professional standards for teachers and occupational standards for the wider school workforce. It promotes high-quality CPD through guidance and quality assurance and through supporting the role of CPD leadership in schools.

Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 5. There is a good deal of evidence and consensus on the characteristics of a good quality teacher. The report (2000) by McBer found three main factors within a teacher’s control that significantly influence pupils’ progress—professional characteristics, teaching skills and the classroom climate. This research and related evidence has influenced the TDA’s development of professional standards for teachers. It is the TDA’s role to set the standards and to determine the requirements for initial teacher training that secure good quality teaching. The current standards and requirements were subject to extensive consultation in 2006 and became statutory in 2007. 6. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers have to meet the Secretary of State’s Requirements for ITT in order to retain their accreditation. Ofsted measures providers’ quality against these Requirements, focusing on the management and quality assurance of systems and processes; the quality of the training provided and the standards achieved by trainees. The TDA uses Ofsted grades to determine provider quality categories. 7. In terms of assessing the quality of training, and its fitness for purpose, the TDA uses a range of measures, including Ofsted inspection; TDA monitoring; ITT providers’ self-evaluation, newly qualified teachers’ (NQT’s) own assessments, and longer term research projects sampling schools’ senior leadership teams’ (SLT) views of the quality of NQTs . 8. All of these measures demonstrate the substantial improvements in quality that have been made over the last few years. The percentage of ITT places allocated to good or very good providers has risen from 76% (17% very good) in 2003–04 to 94% (38% very good) in 2008–09 for primary, and from 76% (7% very good) to 97% (34% very good) for secondary. 9. TDA uses this range of evidence, including NQTs and SLTs views of particular aspects of their training to stimulate improvements, encourage providers to address weaker areas in their provision and ensure provision is meeting current known future needs. TDA has also developed with providers guidance and case studies to support their interpretation and delivery of the Standards and Requirements for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).

Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT 10. The TDA agrees strongly with the McKinsey report How the world’s best-performing schools systems come out on top that getting the right people to become teachers, and developing them into eVective teachers, are the principal means of ensuring schools have high quality teachers. This is a key aim for TDA and many of our programmes, including advertising, marketing, helplines and experience in schools, are targeted to recruit those who will make good teachers. These activities are focused mainly on the priority subjects of maths and science. 11. The responsibility to recruit trainee teachers on to particular courses rests with individual providers, who use a range of techniques to ensure that they recruit those that demonstrate the qualities to be good teachers. As part of the selection process, trainees would typically undertake a range of tasks including teaching, group interviews and assessments. 12. The selection process also forms part of the Ofsted inspection—the entry requirements for teacher training require training providers to be sure that any trainee they enrol has the qualities and capacity to meet the QTS standards. Pre-registration with the General Teaching Council for England brings trainee teachers into the same regulatory framework as that of serving teachers, and requires of them a commitment to uphold the GTCE Code of Conduct and Practice for Registered Teachers. 13. The TDA will shortly be piloting the use of diagnostic tools, including psychometric testing, and “headhunting” to assess their value in helping providers identify the best candidates for teaching. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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14. In terms of the selection criteria the McBer research found that eVective and outstanding teachers came from diverse backgrounds. This research and other evidence suggests that pupil outcomes are aVected more by a teacher’s skills and professional characteristics than by factors such as their sex, qualiﬁcations or experience. The QTS standards are aimed at developing the characteristics that make for eVective teachers including: — setting high expectations of pupils; — setting a clear framework and objectives for each lesson; — employing a variety of teaching strategies and techniques to engage pupils; — employing a clear strategy for pupil management; — managing their time wisely and eVectively; and — employing a range of assessment methods and techniques to monitor pupil’s progress.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 15. The TDA manages the ITT market by funding providers to supply a speciﬁed number of training places. The number is determined by the DCSF, using teacher supply models, which take account of changing pupil numbers, the age proﬁle of serving teachers and trend patterns of teachers leaving and rejoining the profession. The TDA is required by law to take account of quality in allocating ITT places. It uses quality categories derived from Ofsted inspections when allocating undergraduate and PGCE ITT places and funding to HEI and SCITT providers. Greater priority and protection against reductions in ITT places and funding is given to ITT providers in higher quality categories. This direct link between quality and ITT allocations, allied to a robust procedure for handling non-compliance, provides a powerful market incentive for individual ITT providers to ensure that they maintain and improve the quality of their provision. 16. In the 10 years that this allocation approach has been used in full, the percentage of undergraduate and PGCE ITT places allocated to high quality ITT providers has increased from 68 to 96%.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 17. TDA encouragement of providers to develop a wide diversity of routes into teacher training has been instrumental in making teaching an option for people from a variety of backgrounds. It has helped teaching to be one of the most popular choices for a second or third career and schools have benefited from being able to recruit teachers with experience in other professions. All initial teacher training routes oVered by providers in England lead to the award of qualified teacher status. 18. Higher education (HEI) provision oVers training across the early years, primary and secondary phases, and the full range of school curriculum subjects. It may be full-time, part-time, flexible or assessment-based. It is characterised by a strength in subject expertise and a strong research base. Trainees on courses on HEI based courses will spend two thirds of their time on school experience. 19. School Centred ITT (SCITT) provision roots training in the school context, and draws upon the strengths and expertise of school-based trainers, but is commonly delivered in partnership with HEIs. 20. Employment Based ITT (EBITT) provision provides routes for, for example, high-flying graduates who might not otherwise choose teaching as a career (Teach First); those who need to work and earn while training (Graduate Teacher Programme); those who need to train in an employed setting to gain QTS and a degree at the same time (Registered Teacher Programme), and those who are trained overseas and are not immediately eligible to apply for QTS recognition. 21. The TDA also funds well-regarded subject enhancement courses (for up to six months in duration) for those interested in teaching maths, physics and chemistry but who need additional subject expertise before they undertake teacher training. This has substantially increased the pool of people eligible to train for these shortage subjects.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 22. The TDA oVers a variety of incentives and programmes of support to providers to promote teaching to under-represented groups. The TDA met its targets for these groups in 2008–09. Of the new entrants into initial teacher training (ITT), 5% declared themselves to have a disability, 12% were from a minority ethnic background (BME) and 15% of primary trainees were male. 23. Around £1 million was allocated to ITT providers to support the recruitment and retention of BME trainees, whereby all providers of teacher training are set an advisory target and funding is paid to providers where there have been year-on-year improvements in recruitment. In order to improve retention, funding is also paid for each BME trainee on programmes. £700,000 was spent on Recruitment and Retention Challenge grants which had elements of recruitment or retention of black and minority ethnic trainees, men into primary or to support students with a disability. We fund three-day taster courses to encourage people Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 176 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

to consider a career in teaching who are from a BME background or men interested in teaching. The TDA is also funding a further three years of the “Refugees into Teaching” project, which is co-ordinated by the Refugee Council.

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances). 24. Potential teachers generally know whether they wish to teach primary age children, early years or a specific secondary subject. The majority of training organisations concentrate on particular aspects. This helps to ensure that the trainee is managed by experts. Teacher training is focused on the practicalities of teaching. Nearly two-thirds of a trainee’s time on a one-year post-graduate course is spent in the classroom. The TDA’s annual survey of newly qualified teachers found that 85% of trainees rated their training as good or very good. 25. As part of its response to the Education and Skills Select Committee’s report on Special Educational Needs (SEN) (2006) the Government asked Ofsted to report on the eVectiveness of initial teacher training and induction in relation to SEN and disability. Ofsted found that of the sixteen ITT providers they surveyed, ten made provision that was good or better for teaching pupils with learning diYculties and disabilities and five were satisfactory. The TDA is taking forward a programme of work to address Ofsted’s recommendations. 26. Nevertheless, TDA is aware that, given the pressures of time on a postgraduate ITT course, it will always be diYcult to provide trainees with the depth of training in SEN that trainees need and would like to receive. This was one of the key reasons for the TDA working with the DCSF to introduce the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). The MTL which is planned to develop teachers in the early years of their career, will include SEN as one of its core elements, and will oVer the option for teachers to specialise further in SEN. 27. The TDA recognises the need to ensure that high-quality teachers are recruited to and retained within schools facing challenging circumstances. In order to address these issues the DCSF and TDA are introducing a range of incentives to encourage more high-quality teachers to apply for posts in the most challenging schools and to encourage retention. These incentives include newly qualified teachers (and heads of department from 2010–11) being eligible for the MTL; new appointments being eligible for a cash grant of £10,000 if they accept a post at a challenging school and hold that post for 3 years; and access to a network of teachers from participating schools. 28. The TDA works closely with ITT providers to encourage increased support to trainees with placements in challenging schools. High quality ITT providers have the option of applying for funds from the TDA’s Recruitment and Retention Challenge Grant to help increase the number of placements in these schools.

The Delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 29. A number of years ago, with the agreement of Ofsted, the TDA introduced “innovation status” to encourage providers to be more innovative in their courses and approaches to training. The status allows training providers the scope to take risks while removing that element of provision from having an impact on a provider’s inspection grading. This has been used, for example, to encourage the development of ITT for vocational qualifications and to allow a northern-based training provider to start a teacher training satellite operation in inner-London. 30. The ITT requirements are suYciently flexible to allow providers to design distinctive provision in order, for example, to respond to the specific needs of local partnership schools, and to respond to new initiatives such as the need for primary modern foreign languages, life skills such as cooking and 14–19 Diploma teachers.

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 31. The TDA believes that, based on Ofsted evidence and research, ITT is in general most eVectively delivered through a strong partnership of HEIs and schools, drawing on the strengths of both. The role of HEIs is signiﬁcant. 85% of new teachers train in university or college-led provision. Higher education oVers tutors who are experienced in teaching, teacher training and often school management. Trainee teachers in HEIs have ready access to the institution’s facilities including the library, technology infrastructure and research support. HEIs are also engaged in professional development programmes for teachers, training programmes for Higher Level Teaching Assistants and foundation degrees which can be the starting point for someone with few previous qualiﬁcations who wishes to become a teacher. Much school-based provision (SCITTs and EBITTs) includes an HEI either within the formal partnership, or contributing external support and challenge. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 32. The current partnership model has been in place since 1992. Since then recruitment to teacher training has increased by over 40% to 38,400 in 2007–08. Finding suYcient schools for school experience was a major problem some six years ago but is less so now, partly because of the strategies that have been adopted by the TDA. The TDA has promoted the value gained by the school in developing trainee teachers and has provided ﬁnancial and other incentives to encourage schools to become involved. Twelve regionally-based advisers work with training providers and schools to assist in resolving these and other partnership issues. 33. The partnership model has been adapted to test diVerent approaches. For example, several institutions have used “saturation” placements whereby a number of trainees work in a school for a limited time-span under the supervision of an experienced mentor. Beneﬁts to the trainees include the development of co-operation, the chance to learn from each other and the value of an intense experience. The evidence of the National Partnership project is that schools see involvement in ITT as being a key aspect of school improvement and the involvement of experienced teachers in mentoring and coaching is regarded as an excellent form of CPD.

The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 34. Education has seen much innovation and change and development opportunities for those delivering ITT are required to keep pace. The TDA has established a number of channels of support to facilitate development opportunities: — Policy implementation: eg signiﬁcant investment in the Citized network to support those delivering training in Citizenship and partnering with the National Strategies to provide CPD following the Rose Review of early reading — Identiﬁed need: long-term support for networks such as Multiverse & Behaviour4Learning, to develop practice in behaviour and diversity. — Capacity building: eg work with subject organisations to provide induction and web support for new ITT tutors/trainers. 35. To underpin the TDA’s investment in ICT in ITT, twelve characteristics have been developed with the sector including: — an integrated approach to the professional development of teacher trainers in the use of ICT in teaching and learning — regular, eVective links between providers on ICT issues. The TDA also works closely with partners such as UCET to identify areas requiring development and to deliver CPD for ITT providers.

The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 36. The contribution of TDA to education research has been recognised (RAE 2008). TDA funds research and supports a range of initiatives to promote the transfer of research and evidence into practice, including: — The Teacher Training Resource Bank (www.ttrb.ac.uk): providing access to research and evidence- informed resources. Over 5,000 articles are viewed daily and 58% of the 18,000 registered users are trainee teachers or tutors/mentors supporting teacher training. — Programmes of research and development: including Research and Development Awards, placing an emphasis on dissemination and the development of wider practice. — Evidence for Policy and Practice Information (EPPI) systematic reviews: commissioned and published by the TDA to assist practitioners and policy-makers to base decisions on reliable evidence. 37. The TDA recently researched the concept of producing a regular journal for teachers. The conclusions were that teachers wanted to read reliable evidence based advice they can use to improve their practice. The ﬁrst edition of Professional Teacher was published in January 2009. 38. The TDA also works closely with partners to promote educational research in ITT, through, for example, the educational evidence portal (www.eep.ac.uk) and engagement with ESCalate], the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) and the Best Educational Evidence (BEE) programme. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 178 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 39. TDA seeks to stimulate informed demand, bring coherence and oVer guidance to schools to ensure CPD meets the needs of teachers and schools. By linking CPD into the wider context of teacher standards and performance management it can be used to support improvement in standards and teaching quality.The TDA is currently developing regional support to help schools make the strategic links between CPD, school improvement and performance management which research shows improve standards and pupil outcomes (Ofsted, 2006). 40. In collaboration with partner organisations, the TDA has identiﬁed national priorities for teachers’ continuing professional development. These are helping CPD providers plan an appropriate range of high- quality programmes to support teachers’ professional development. The national priorities are grouped into three categories:

Pedagogy — behaviour management; — subject knowledge; and — supporting curriculum change.

Personalisation — equality and diversity; and — SEN and disability.

People — working with other professionals; and — school leadership. 41. Responsibility and funding for CPD provision for teachers is devolved to schools. TDA’s strategy to improve CPD has four strands: standards and qualifications which include reference to the performance management and the professional responsibility of individuals to undertake professional development; guidance for schools including advice on induction, early professional development and evaluating the impact of CPD on outcomes; CPD leadership; and quality assurance. This strategy and guidance is underpinned by strong evidence (TDA, State of the Nation (SoN) synthesis, 2009). 42. Building on its current role of funding masters level CPD for teachers and supporting induction for new teachers, the TDA has worked with DCSF to introduce the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) as a key transformational professional development programme for teachers. This programme will be introduced on a phased basis from September 2009 to NQTs in the North West. The MTL has been developed with the aims of increasing the status of teaching, boosting the support to teachers in the early years of their careers, through training, coaching and classroom research, and establishing the principle of continuous professional development and peer group learning. It will be based on practice in the classroom and delivered through partnership of schools and HEIs. 43. In addition to core professional development elements, the MTL will allow teachers to undertake specialist elements to develop expertise in their chosen areas. Options will include subject specialism (such as maths) for primary teachers, subject pedagogy for secondary teachers, SEN, and leadership, including working with NCSL on incorporating “Leadership from the middle” training. 44. Ofsted have found that CPD is most eVective in schools whose senior managers understand fully its potential for raising standards and are committed to using it as key driver for school improvement. TDA defines eVective CPD as consisting of reflective activity designed to improve an individual’s attributes, knowledge, understanding and skills. CPD may involve formal, external courses and programmes, but may equally consist of in-school activities such as coaching and mentoring, lesson observation/feedback, and collaborative planning and teaching. The 2008 Ofsted report noted the importance of whole-school approaches to professional development of all staV as part of a single workforce and TDA is strongly advocating this through its advice and work with LA and school CPD leaders. 45. TDA’s State of the Nation research project found that the majority of teachers reported that CPD had developed their individual professional skills and knowledge (77%) and that they had become more aware of teaching and learning issues (71%). Survey data from the same project identified that teachers had chosen to take part in CPD because they felt that it would improve their professional abilities and classroom practice; address immediate school and classroom needs; and would have a positive impact on pupil learning. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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46. While DCSF research has concluded that teachers do not necessarily become more eVective over time, CPD was seen to be consistently positive throughout professional life phases (DfES, VITAE project 2006). Teachers in later years were seen in this project to be at greater risk of becoming less eVective. However, some experienced teachers have noted evidence of a culture change in teaching located in the “New Professionalism” policy of professional standards, performance management and “a more systematic set of CPD opportunities being planned and provided for teachers.” These teachers saw the standards as “an opportunity for staV beyond NQT to retain focus” and wanted CPD to inﬂuence their practice rather than shape their careers. 47. An NQT is supported in their ﬁrst year of teaching through induction. The induction period combines a personalised programme of development, support and professional dialogue, with monitoring and an assessment of performance against the core standards. A teacher must successfully complete induction to continue teaching in a maintained school or non-maintained special school in England. If an NQT fails to complete induction the General Teaching Council (GTC) will register that this NQT is no longer eligible to be employed as a teacher in a maintained school. According to GTCE data less than 1% of NQTs fail induction. Teachers in their induction year are entitled to a timetable with 10% non-contact time (compared to the duties of a normal classroom teacher and in addition to 10% planning, preparation and assessment time) so that they have the time to focus on their professional development needs. The TDA is working with local authorities to ensure coherence between MTL and arrangements for NQT induction.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 48. It is diYcult to determine current spend on CPD in schools. Budgets are devolved to schools and professional development does not always necessitate the transfer of funding from the school to another organisation. Some of the most eVective CPD takes place between teachers within school. Teachers work for 195 days per year in school. This is five days more than pupils are required to attend: this additional 5 days is normally classed as in-service training days (INSET). The 5 days INSET represents a little over 2.5% of a teacher’s oYcial time. 49. The DCSF provides schools with the tools to track expenditure and report to parents, local authorities, auditors and regulators. As part of the State of the Nation research, a snapshot of 11 senior leaders reported spending widely varying proportions of the school budget between 0.25% and 2.5% on professional development. Some 32% of the spending on CPD is on external courses (TDA, SoN synthesis, 2009). Where schools have been funded, for example in the TDA’s EVective Practices in CPD project, evaluation found that funds were mostly spent on providing time for collaborative activity to take place in school and the report judged that the funding was mainly spent eVectively. (LCLL, 2008) 50. Ofsted pointed at impact evaluation being “the weakest link” in the logical chain of CPD provision in schools and the State of the Nation evidence states that “evaluation systems of CPD used in schools are insuYciently tied to considering planned outcomes, identifying specific criteria and considering value for money”. The majority of studies find that this is still a challenging area for schools and one where CPD leaders in schools require support and training. TDA has provided web guidance on evaluating impact and is developing a training programme with NCSL for CPD leadership which will help to address this issue. This programme has drawn on the evidence from a series of regional pilot projects. 51. TDA has used the IPSOS/MORI Omnibus Survey and GTCE Survey of Teachers, TDA’s own State of the Nation, stakeholder surveys, reports by NFER, reports on projects such as Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) and Ofsted to gain insights into impact tracking at school level. The evidence gathered from monitoring, tracking and surveys suggests that taking part in eVective CPD has improved teachers’ professional knowledge, skills and understanding. PPD providers produce annual impact evaluations on their programmes which oVer much evidence that participation has directly improved teachers’ professional knowledge, skills and understanding. As a result, these teachers are more able to improve pupils’ learning experiences and attainment. 52. As part of its strategy to help schools to become more informed consumers the TDA is piloting a national database of CPD provision. TDA and DCSF also require 220 training schools to spend 50% of their budget (of between £60 and £90,000) on outreach programmes and activities with the wider children’s workforce. This has helped schools use classroom observation to determine the eVectiveness of CPD and coaching. 53. Collaborative CPD (which commonly takes place in schools or between clusters of schools) is the most valuable as it has an eVect on the school as well as the individual and helps personalise CPD to staV and school needs. This fact alongside the localisation of budgets and provision underlines the importance of TDA having a national role in supporting local capacity and capability to manage CPD and monitor its impact. TDA has worked with 143 local authorities, for example, to develop regional networks of support and training for CPD leaders in schools. This work has increased the capacity and capability for schools to plan and provide sustainable, collaborative CPD and eVectively monitor its impact. February 2009 Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 180 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Witnesses: Graham Holley, Chief Executive, Michael Day, Executive Director for Training, Liz Francis, Director, Workforce Strategy Directorate and Dr Jacqueline Nunn, Training and Development, Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), gave evidence.

Q205 Chairman: What a pleasure it is to have Graham Holley: Well, I’m not sure he has said very Michael Day, Graham Holley, Liz Francis and much about the quality of teachers or training, but Jacqueline Nunn with us. Dr Nunn, do you mind if he was in the media this morning talking about the we don’t have titles today? comprehensive system. He was talking at system Dr Nunn: I would much prefer that. level, drawing on his experience, as he saw it, from India in his new role. Q206 Chairman: I think one should flaunt one’s qualifications, quite honestly. I am thinking of Q208 Chairman: It was rather depressing, what he putting all my honorary degrees down, and yours is was saying, wasn’t it? a well-earned doctorate. If you don’t mind, though, Graham Holley: He is entitled to his views, of course, we revert to first name terms. It is quicker than but it is not for me to comment at system level. We saying the whole name all the time—but you still call are here to talk about teacher training. me Chairman. Is that all right? Shall we get on? Graham, you have asked to make a statement—we Q209 Chairman: Okay. It is just that it is interesting are always delighted for you to make a statement, as how people take the king’s shilling, and for a long long as it is not too long. This is the penultimate time we don’t really know what they are thinking session on the training of teachers. We have the new about. Let’s get started, then. First of all, I am going Minister following your evidence, and then we will to ask you a question, Graham, which you can share get busy writing up, so this is a very important with the panel. That is a pretty rosy picture. But session. today we will be probing you on three general areas. Graham Holley: I am very happy to make a brief One of those is retention. What research have you statement of a minute or two, just to warm things up. done on the reason why we lose so many people that If I may say so, this is a good time to hold an inquiry we have spent a lot of money training? In the first five into teacher training. If we had this discussion 10 years, we lose a considerable percentage of them. years ago, or in the two or three years after that, we What is wrong there, and is that linked to the would have a very diVerent dialogue. We would talk experience that teachers have as they come into about teacher shortages, four-day weeks in schools school? Some of the evidence we have seen suggests and, probably, the poor—poorer—quality of initial that mentoring and induction are not as good as they teacher training. Now we can talk about 95% of the could be. Continuing professional development also places in ITT having “good” or “very good” seems to be a bit sketchy and haphazard. Those three provision by ITT providers. The last Ofsted report themes will be running throughout our questioning, suggested that 50% of the providers that it inspected and we hope to have some answers on them this were “outstanding”. There is no national shortage of afternoon. That was just to warn you of the teachers any more—in fact, we have more teachers questions. Edward will open the questioning. than we have had for a generation. There are more teachers than when you or I were in school, Q210 Mr Timpson: I want to pick up on the retention Chairman. Ofsted has also said that the quality, of people going into teacher training, and to flesh out maybe three years ago, was the best ever. Over that V what the Chairman has said about that with some period, we have also doubled the number of sta in figures. We understand that in 2006–07, across the wider work force. Of course, that is very good for university, school and employment-based ITT, 15% children, because they are being taught by better dropped out of ITT and a further 13% dropped out teachers in a more diverse work force. Looking between completing ITT and taking a teaching post. forward, the challenge for us is how to make the We can calculate a total wastage of 30%, which is the most of the bonus that we have at the moment. equivalent of 8,000 NQTs, and we know that a third Record numbers of people are applying to become of teachers leave the profession within five years. teachers—it has become a hot profession. If you Taking those statistics either in their minutiae or in look at applications to ITT, even in traditionally Y the round—whichever you like—why is that? very di cult areas such as maths and science, Graham Holley: We did some work last year on applications are up by just under 60% in the first case averaging out across the diVerent routes, because the and 43% in the second. Our focus is on how we can attrition, or drop-out, rates are diVerent according make that more sustainable; how we can turn that to the diVerent routes, and we need to look at the into a longer-term improvement; how we can make whole piece. As an average, over the past few years, the switch from providers recruiting to selecting for every 100 newly qualified teachers gaining from the best candidates; and how we can get the qualified teacher status, we discovered that 83 go very best of those teachers into the most challenging straight into employment in the maintained sector schools, where they can do the most good and, and then complete their induction a year later. Some arguably, raise the status of the teaching profession will be taking a gap year, with some coming into along the way. We are delighted to be here and, teaching later; some will go into the independent between us, we are happy to answer your questions. sector; and some will not acquire a job straight away. For example, in the primary sector there is quite a lot Q207 Chairman: What has the previous chief of competition. Some may go into supply; some executive of the TDA been saying recently about the might fail their induction, and so would not be training and quality of teachers? included in those figures; and, of course, some Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 181

15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn choose other careers. Taking the figures forward—I would like to give to you, which is that in the think they are slightly better than your figures, Mr 2004–05 cohort, 61% of those who got the QTS were Timpson—70 of the 83 were still teaching in the still teaching two years later. A year later, in maintained sector after two years. Our work shows 2005–06, 82% were still teaching two years later. that then levels out over the next five years, and, Those are the latest figures. That is quite a marked within maybe 1% or 2% of that figure, we find that a improvement, which we will not see in terms of “Are number come back into teaching and a number enter they still there in five years’ time?” for another later. However, I saw a figure from the Department three years. some years ago, which was that 95% of those who gain QTS use that qualification by teaching Q213 Mr Timpson: Some of those who go into ITT somewhere at some point for some time. and do not make it out the other end into the induction year or beyond into the profession may Q211 Chairman: What percentage? say, and there is some research by the National Graham Holley: It is 95%. Union of Teachers and others to back this up, that Michael Day: Can I add a little bit about the QTS. the experience that they have of that transitional Graham has talked about moving from having the process, whether it is at the stage of mentoring or award of QTS to actually becoming a teacher, but further down the process, means that they feel that you also asked about retention on QTS courses, the experience that they are getting as NQTs is not as which is very important. There are two points on good as it could be. If you agree with that, how does that. First, despite all the best eVorts of providers to the TDA intend to improve the experience that some recruit people who are going to make it through the of those people have? course to the end and get QTS, there are going to be Graham Holley: It is fair to say that some NQTs people who do not make it either because they do not receive a mixed experience. We know, for example, suit teaching when they try it, or because the that the career entry development profile, which is provider decides that they are not suitable to become the document that enables an NQT to focus on the a teacher once they have seen them work in a development that they need in their induction, is not classroom. Secondly, people have personal reasons used as well as we would like it to be used. We know, for pulling out. Our research shows that personal too, that the local authority support that is provided reasons are quite a major factor in the percentage to NQTs is variable. However, we also know that that you have identified—people’s lives and family 97% of NQTs get the 10% reduction to which they circumstances change. We are really clear about the are entitled on their timetable. We would like to way in which we work with our providers on make that 100%. You have asked what we are doing encouraging them to sift out people during the about it. We are providing support and guidance to course who won’t make it to QTS and who the induction tutors. We have held conferences for those providers don’t think will be good teachers. In fact, involved in induction, and we have a newsletter for we fund teacher training on the basis of those people local authority induction co-ordinators, where we who are on a course at the beginning of October. The can draw their attention to what we think are key provider gets the whole year’s funding as long as factors. We have also established a helpline, so that someone is on the course in October for a one-year anyone who needs information about induction, or postgraduate certificate in education, so there is wants to query how best to go about delivering the absolutely no financial incentive for a provider to statutory responsibilities, can phone up and ask. keep someone on a course whom they have any kind Importantly, because we know that the career entry of concerns about. They get the money, and they can development profile is not being used particularly cancel that person oV the course, and then that well, we are going to review it in the spring of next person does not make it through to the profession. year—what it looks like, how it is used and the uses Clearly, sifting out people in that training is to which it is put. important to make sure that people who do not have Liz Francis: The most recent research that we can the skills to be a teacher don’t make it through to draw on is the Becoming a Teacher research, which QTS, so it tends to be much more that people leave shows some encouraging signs of improvement— rather than that they fail QTS. Usually, they leave 88% of NQTs say that they have a formal induction the course well before they get to being assessed. programme and very high levels of satisfaction are shown, but we are not complacent. As Graham has said, we have got an intensive programme of support Q212 Mr Timpson: Are you therefore happy with the level of retention, or would you still be seeking to to ensure that even that promising picture improves. improve it? It is partly because of concerns about that very Graham Holley: We would very much like to important induction year that we have developed the improve the retention rates, although it is important, MTL. That is the rationale for this new practice- as Michael has suggested, to ensure that those who based qualification being targeted at those in their discover that teaching is not for them do not actually early professional development, at least in its initial make it through to the classroom. The situation is years. improving. “Attrition”, as we call it, was at its greatest in 2001, and it has improved steadily since Q214 Mr Timpson: Is there not an argument to try to then. I think there will be a benefit from the current improve the experience of NQTs and also to address economic circumstances as well, for however long some of the perceived weaknesses in teacher training that applies. There is a pretty startling figure that I in terms of support for trainees while on school Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 182 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn placements? Trying to formalise the role of the can select the right sorts of candidates in the first teacher mentor is something that I know the TDA place, before they give them training, and also to has been promoting through funded mentor work on campuses getting the brightest and the training. Is that something we should look at as best—those who are likely to cope in those very becoming something that you do rather than you challenging circumstances better. We are creating a may do? We could look at that through either long- peer-support network, so that new teachers going term ring-fenced funding or a requirement to into challenging schools can talk to one another and complete mentor training. share their experiences and work together on Graham Holley: You are saying that the mentors problems that they might have. We are developing a themselves should be required to have training and training and development package, which we hope that it should become a formal responsibility? to have ready for September for new teachers, which Mr Timpson: That is right. will help them and providers. Lastly, we are also Graham Holley: In a sense, it is already a formal paying incentives to providers who are in the A responsibility for those who hold it. It is important category—very good providers—to make to note as well that the ground is shifting around placements in schools facing challenging this. It is now a professional responsibility for circumstances, because we find that once the very teachers beyond the threshold to engage in the good teachers have that experience, many of them development of others, which was not the case a want to stay,because they find they can contribute so couple of years ago. Ofsted inspects mentoring much more. activity during its inspections of ITT, so we would know if there were a major problem at that level. We have thought about whether we should require Q217 Mr Timpson: Is there still reluctance among schools to become involved in providing partnership mainstream providers to place in challenging placements and therefore more mentors, but the schools? Is that an issue that we still need to address? trouble is that you then end up with pressed men. It Graham Holley: I might ask Jacqui to come in on this is much better, if we can, to build desire and point in a moment, if that is all right. Sometimes the expectation among schools, so that they want to resistance is on the part of the school, which does not become involved in ITT and mentoring willingly, want to engage in ITT because it sees it as a because through that energising of the system, it distraction, which I firmly believe it is not, but it is becomes a core element of their own school’s also on the part of the provider, which sees its improvement. In The Times Educational Supplement prospects, if it is inspected by Ofsted, as being more a few weeks ago, for example, the most improved secure if it places its trainees in a more suitable, as it school in the country said that part of that was would see it, environment. because it was involved in ITT. We just need to Dr Nunn: It is about breaking a cycle of deprivation, spread that message. if you like. The Committee will be aware that one of the main reasons for involvement by schools in ITT partnerships is access to the crop of the brightest and So you favour a more organic Q215 Mr Timpson: best new teachers. Therefore, if high-quality approach to mentoring becoming a more formalised providers are placing their trainees in the safer part of the training? schools, there is a challenge for those where the Graham Holley: I think that it is really important support might be less eVective. From this year, we that the sector develops its own ownership for the are incentivising some of our category A providers development of the profession. with extra support when working with schools that might present those challenges and are providing Q216 Mr Timpson: In your opening remarks, extra support for the trainees. That will give the Graham, you touched on challenging schools and providers security that they are not risking their ensuring that teachers who are going to go into those quality category by putting their trainees into challenging schools have suYcient training. There is schools where they might get a less eVective training evidence from NQTs, when asked, that they feel that experience. It will also give those schools access to they are not adequately prepared to teach in some of the brightest and best of our new quality challenging schools, particularly in the cases of teachers who are coming through. pupils with special educational needs or English as an additional language. What does the TDA intend to do about trying to improve the quality of the Q218 Chairman: Graham, how much does it cost to training that those NQTs are getting to ensure that train a teacher these days? they don’t have that experience? Graham Holley: I have some figures with me, but it Graham Holley: That is a really important question varies according to the route. For one-year and one of the biggest challenges for us over the next postgraduate courses, it costs about £12,600. It costs year or so. Our remit letter from the Secretary of almost twice that for Teach First courses. Perhaps State asks us to explore ways of improving that Michael can develop the figures. situation. There is a number of things that we are Michael Day: I can. For undergraduates it is about doing. We have looked at the experiences of Teach £14,700, but that is because we are funding a three First, which, of course, concentrates on making or four-year course. Graham has given the average placements in schools facing challenging figure for postgraduates, but it varies depending on circumstances. One thing that we will be doing is the size of the bursary we pay. 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15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn

£20,000 because we pay a subsidy to schools towards salary is a good, average, strong graduate starting the salary. As Graham has said, for Teach First it is salary. We monitor that every year and that is part of about £25,000.1 our evidence to the STRB. Chairman: We will come back to that, but we have overshot on the first section of questions. We will go That is a lot of money. When they Q219 Chairman: on to continuing professional development with go into the independent sector, do they pay that Paul. back? Does the independent sector make a contribution for training their teachers for them? Michael Day: The independent sector does not pay Q224 Paul Holmes: As an organisation, you are part anything back to us, certainly, but I suppose they of a system where there is a lot of direct control over contribute to overall taxation. ITT. However, once teachers are into the system, CPD is all down to the school. Practice varies enormously from one school to another. Is that a Q220 Chairman: That is very interesting, but it is an good system or would you like to extend your aberration. How much does a teacher earn after a influence? couple of years in the profession? Graham Holley: That is an interesting question. Do Graham Holley: The entry level in central London is we need greater control? We have a diVerent role in about £25,000. It can rise to about £30,000 after a relation to CPD. That is largely because the money couple of years. is devolved to schools. In ITT, we have been able to extract large improvements working with the sector Q221 Chairman: Do you ever publish how much a in partnership, not least because we could use the teacher earns after two, three, five or 10 years and money levers and put in funding in order to drive up compare that with other professions? How does it quality. In schools, our role is to stimulate intelligent compare with social workers? and informed demand for good CPD. It aims to Graham Holley: They are better paid than social bring about coherence across the piece and to try workers. Every year we give detailed evidence to the and establish levels of consistency regarding what is STRB, as does the Department. Through the OME, provided and what is engaged in. We see it, and the the STRB compares teachers’ salaries to the salaries role given to us by the Secretary of State, as linking of other professions and decides what they should be standards and performance management with paid over the next three years. decisions that are being made about CPD on an individual basis. We believe that over time that will raise standards and teaching quality. We are Q222 Chairman: If you have those comparative developing regional support for schools and local figures, can we look at them? 2 authorities to help the strategic links that are being Graham Holley: Of course, yes. made between performance management standards and CPD. Q223 Mr Stuart: You do that comparative analysis Liz Francis: The approach needs to reflect the between teaching and other professions. Do you purpose. You are talking about CPD as opposed to have data on the educational qualifications with ITT, and the terminology is really important. We which people enter teaching and make a comparison believe that if we want to develop people, it is between how people with certain qualifications fare important to work with them and that prescriptive in teaching compared with other professions? legislation and top-down approaches do not work. Michael Day: We do indeed. We do detailed work. We know that the culture of a school is key to its We are a member of the Association of Graduate successful professional development. It must be a Recruiters and fully participate in that. Those culture that supports learning and that is developed organisations—I think it is the top 100 recruiters of by working together. The performance management graduates—share all their data each year. You can arrangements, which are still very new, are beginning see exactly what starting salaries are being paid in to show a shift in culture. The state of the nation which professions. We can do a really detailed piece research showed the beginnings of positive signs that of work and have done special research on what you indicated a change in attitude concerning would earn with particular types of degrees in professional development, and that it is being seen as diVerent professions. For instance, it is clear that a right as well as a responsibility. Our approach is set before the credit crunch, maths and physics out in terms of quality assurance through a graduates could command a higher starting salary database, a code of practice, our support for the role than that of a teacher. Other types of graduates of CPD leaders—as we know that they are critical to could not command such a high salary. A £25,000 that process in schools—and the guidance that we produce, which really reflects the nature of the 1 Note by witness: Between 2002–09 all aspects of the delivery challenge. of the Teach First programme were funded on a contracting model. The figure of £25,000 given to the Select Committee in evidence was based on an averaging of the contracted Q225 Paul Holmes: My experience of this is getting costs of the regional year long training, the summer out of date, as it is eight years since I was in teaching. institute, mentoring and the sums paid to Teach First to However, in my experiences of eight years ago, one support the regional expansion and on-campus recruitment activity for the academic years 2006–07, 2007–08 and of the main obstacles to CPD was simply getting the 2008–09, across the numbers of participants. See Ev 357–59 time out of the classroom. 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Ev 184 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn in holiday time or evenings. Most of it was nine to schools being clear about what diVerence something five and it clashed. It meant that someone had to has made, and we are working closely with schools miss a day, or half a day, of teaching with all the to support that. consequent problems both for the teacher, their Graham Holley: I agree with that, and alongside classes and the school. Is that still an issue, or do we impact there is also value for money, and in both just have to live with that? areas we have provided schools and local authorities Graham Holley: Clearly, it always takes time to with some tools so they can more easily see those engage in productive CPD, but we would argue that eVects. Since we have a couple of pieces of data, I will that is an investment rather than an extra burden. mention another couple of quite important pieces Things have happened recently that help teachers in that also demonstrate improvement: our staV schools in that area—the development of clusters, development outcomes survey had a headline figure for example. We now see schools working together of 79% for the proportion of those filling it in who in small groups, so that between them, they can said they thought their CPD had been personalised manage both the CPD and the backfill in the to their needs, which was an improvement; and the classroom. Some of those pressures have probably state of the nation report, which I know you have eased. Would you agree with that, Liz? seen, showed that 77% of teachers said the CPD they Liz Francis: That is absolutely right, as is the point undertook increased their skills and knowledge. that I made earlier about the approach reflecting Those are very encouraging figures. what someone wants to achieve. In fact, going out on courses—which are clearly very time If there are quite high levels of V Q227 Paul Holmes: consuming—is rarely the most e ective form of satisfaction from teachers about the CPD, how does professional development. The most eVective that match with the fact that the proportion of a development is where someone reflects on their school’s budget spent on CPD can vary from 0.25% actual teaching, so that the learning is through the to between 10% and 15%? job. In order to improve, a teacher needs time to Graham Holley: There is indeed a very wide range, collaborate with their colleagues and reflect on what and part of that is because schools diVer in their they have done. There is a time implication, but it is definitions of CPD. Some regard it as just being sent not the same as needing a day to go out on a course. away on a course, which might be down at the lower end of around 0.25%. Others will cost the time spent on observing an excellent lesson, for example, and Q226 Paul Holmes: One of the key drivers for include that. We think that a more reliable estimate, CPD—again, this is eight years out of date—was based on our research, is around 2% or 3% of a what Ofsted had identified during its last inspection school’s baseline budget being spent on CPD. If you as something that was weak in the school. The were to aggregate all the baseline budgets across school management team would say, “That is what English schools, you would find that that would we are putting CPD money and time into.” Another equate to between £600 million and £900 million a driver was what the Government regarded as year. priorities, such as numeracy and literary, and therefore that is where the money went. If someone was a history teacher like me, it could be diYcult to Q228 Paul Holmes: When the Committee was in get any CPD as it was neither an Ofsted weakness Canada looking at social work and teacher training, nor a Government priority. How do we get round we found that there seems to be quite a good system that? there whereby teachers could do courses in CPD that could be built up as credits towards a professional Liz Francis: Our latest surveys show that 83% of qualification. There is nothing really like that in this teachers consider their professional needs to have country, although the masters in teachers and been met, either fully or to some extent, and that is learning has just been introduced. Is that the way on an upward trajectory. We are not complacent at forward? all, but the signs are that there has been a change in Graham Holley: We see the masters very much as the views on satisfaction levels and on the quality of way forward. We also sent a small delegation to professional development. The steps we have put in Ontario and took that evidence into account in our place, such as those relating to performance development of the masters. Those in Canada, management, support for leaders and the clusters, incidentally, were very impressed and intrigued by seem to be having an impact. Ofsted has told us that our masters development. the best professional development happens in schools where the senior leadership team understand the importance of professional development in Q229 Paul Holmes: But it will only reach 1% of raising school achievement levels and where there teachers in the first two years. Do we just have to are good links between individual needs and school accept that because it is the start of the process? needs. The most recent evidence from Ofsted was set Graham Holley: Our ambition on the masters is out in its 2006 report, The Logical Chain: continuing limited only by the amount of money available to professional development in eVective schools, which introduce it. Although we of course cannot forecast made recommendations that we have followed up. the result of the next comprehensive spending The recommendation that remains our biggest review, the 10-year vision for the masters is that it challenge is on impact evaluation: that is about should be available to all teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 185

15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn

Q230 Chairman: How far do you use techniques you Q234 Fiona Mactaggart: At present, the law says have learned from the National College for School that you must allocate ITT places on the basis of Leadership, for example? Is it developing quality. Some 96% of undergraduate and PGCE programmes on the quality of mentoring and CPD? training places are already in good or very good Graham Holley: Yes, indeed it is. We work very providers. How will you distinguish between closely with the NCSL. Indeed, we are now working providers and raise standards? actively with it on a joint project to deliver clusters Graham Holley: We have thought very hard about of schools around that subject. It, of course, is that. There is a means of diVerentiating between the responsible for leadership development, so it has Bs, which is slightly complicated to explain, so if you programmes such as “Leading from the Middle” and bear with me. When Ofsted inspects, it will inspect is about to change all of those. We have been talking three main areas of ITT and it will mark them as to NCSL about how we can work together to ensure being good, very good or satisfactory—one, two or that our programmes dovetail. three. If the inspection produces three ones then that is an A-graded provider. If it produces two ones and Q231 Chairman: Some of the evidence I picked up on a two, that is also, in our terms, an A-graded our visits to schools has been about Fast Track. provider. If just beneath that, the total number of Many of the people involved in that really liked the points adds up to five, that provider is classified as a quality of the advice they were given, on NLP for B-graded provider. If it adds up to six, that provider example. Have you learned from Fast Track, or is all is also a B provider. We can now distinguish—and that experience gone and not used? we do—between the B fives and the B sixes. That Michael Day: We used some of that experience in actually materialised in practice during the recent designing MTL. We involved NCSL very closely in allocation process when numbers had to decline the design phase of MTL, and we built some of its across the sector as a whole. The B fives were treated “Leading from the Middle” programmes into the more favourably than the B sixes. MTL programme so that people could blend the programmes from the two organisations into one Q235 Fiona Mactaggart: We have heard that one of masters programme. So, yes, indeed we have. We V the consequences of that is that you get regional looked quite closely at what NCSL o ered—a range imbalances in training, and subject imbalances in of its programmes did not give a middle and fast training. You have a provider who is seen as track—to see what we could learn in terms of excellent, but, actually, that means that you are not coaching, in-school work and developing teachers’ necessarily getting enough good geography, or professionalism. Interestingly, the question about whatever, providers elsewhere. Do you have a plan balancing the individual, the school and the system to ensure that subject by subject, you have suYcient was a really big issue when we designed MTL. When excellence, and how will you deal with the we carried out our regional consultations, that was impact geographically of the consequences of one of the questions that we asked teachers—how discriminating in favour of the best providers, which you achieve that sort of balance and how you might not be geographically equally balanced? allowed them to develop their own professionalism Graham Holley: Yes, I understand the question. It within the context of school improvement. We saw must be said that we are required by law to allocate some really interesting work through our masters- places primarily according to quality and, as far as funded programme—our postgraduate professional we are concerned, there is no way around that. At development programme—where universities have one point we did have a regional approach. The been working with schools on school improvement trouble is newly qualified teachers do not necessarily plans, which have allowed teachers to study for stay where they train—in that geographical area. masters qualifications and address their personal Even if we did identify a part of the country that development needs at the same time as addressing needed more geography teachers, and we put all the school improvement. extra geography places there, teachers would not necessarily go to schools in that area. Ironically, Q232 Chairman: PPD is very successful. Everyone having researched this, we discovered that providers on the street seems to be saying that you are going to in the north-west had a better employment record dump it in order to expand the masters programme. than providers in London, where the vacancies were, Michael Day: PPD is very successful, and the so the regional policy that we had was not delivering masters will be a step beyond PPD. We looked at the as we hoped it would. That is because teachers go PPD experience and saw what was really good in it. where the jobs are, and that will always be the case. MTL is a step beyond that. It develops beyond PPD We operate at a national level, but there is a safety by doing things such as oVering new teachers a valve—the graduate teacher programme. The GTP coach—PPD does not do that—which will help started oV being based on vacancies and being them to develop their professionalism. driven by schools, and we align GTP places very much with the labour market. To some extent, that Q233 Chairman: A coach? has replaced our regional policy. Michael Day: Yes, an individual coach to work in the Michael Day: On the point about subjects, as we school. Under MTL, we have been able to look at have reduced secondary places because of the the best forms of training in PPD and work with demographics in schools, there has been a lot of providers to design a national framework for the pressure on us to maintain a proper regional spread curriculum so that people will get a more solid oVer. for some subjects, and that has been a really big Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 186 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn challenge as numbers have dropped. We have tried Graham Holley: Another one might be if Ofsted to maintain cohorts of about 20 students, so that a judged the quality of provision to be insuYcient— provider would have 20 students studying a indeed, so bad that it was non-compliant. That particular subject, such as geography, so that it would also lead to action on our part. would be economically viable to provide courses and so that quality would be maintained, but that has Q238 Annette Brooke: Changing direction slightly, is been very tricky. One thing that we have been doing early years professional status equivalent to is encouraging providers to swap places. So if one qualified teacher status? provider has 10 history and 10 geography places, Graham Holley: I would say that it is analogous and and another provider has similar places, we have complementary in status. They clearly are diVerent been saying to them, “Why don’t you swap your because they are designed for diVerent purposes, and history for your geography?” so that one provider to meet diVerent needs. has 20 history places and the other has 20 geography places. In some regions, that has been quite Q239 Annette Brooke: Do you not think there is successful, and the north-west region has done a lot some confusion regarding the roles of early years of brokering. In other regions, the universities teachers and early years professionals, and isn’t that simply have not wanted to play ball in that way. making your life a bit more diYcult—to be shown to They have hoped that they can hang on to the their be raising standards in the teaching profession? 10 places and that we will get an upturn in Graham Holley: I wouldn’t say we find it diYcult. We demographics so that the places will come back— don’t have a remit for nought to three and we don’t they weather the storm in the hope of getting all the have an appetite to seek it, but we do work very places back later. It is quite diYcult to manage that, closely with the CWDC—Children’s Workforce but we have tried to build solid centres for diVerent Development Council—on aspects of training for subjects throughout the country. However, we nought to seven-year-olds. Indeed, we have recently undoubtedly have some big regional gaps in subjects made changes to our guidance on the initial teacher with only a small number of places, and that is where training requirements for teachers who get QTS, so the GTP helps. If schools cannot recruit, say, an art that those training in the three to five range, where and design teacher, they can get a GTP place to train there is an overlap, are required to engage with the one in their locality. statutory frameworks in the nought to three phase. This includes things like child development and working with families. We are also co-developing, with the CWDC, units to cover the common core, Q236 Fiona Mactaggart: My final question is about a comment by UCET, which noticed that the impact which is where we come together. It is our job to see of “a more draconian approach to minor and that that all dovetails as it should. technical examples of non-compliance by TDA remains to be seen”, and it remains to be seen by the Q240 Annette Brooke: You are making it sound very Committee, too. Can you give us an example of much easier than I hear the relationship is, actually, when you sent a note of potential non-compliance to on the ground. Graham Holley: That may be because there are a training provider and how standards might have V been threatened had you not done so? di erences between those who hold QTS and those who hold early years professional status. I could Graham? Michael finds that one really Chairman: explain the diVerences between the two as I see them, amusing, so let us see why. if that would help. Michael Day: It was a question that we thought we might be asked. Perhaps if I just keep asking Chairman: Is it the only one you predicted? Q241 Annette Brooke: questions that will tease it out in the same way. Just Michael Day: No. picking up on the point you touched on, obviously Graham Holley: We issue a notice of non- with qualified teacher status in the past there would compliance, or begin withdrawal procedures later if probably have been some basic skills, and teaching we need to, where there is a failure to comply with of skills, missing, in terms of speaking and listening the Secretary of State’s requirements. I disagree with skills—all those skills and the knowledge about UCET that any of these are minor or technical— diVerent theories that we see as so important for they are the Secretary of State’s requirements and early years now. Are you saying that is now being they need to be taken seriously. You asked for an addressed? example. There was one a couple of years ago, when Graham Holley: What I am saying is that those who a university did not have in place a system that are early years professionals will have much more would allow it to be sure that Criminal Records experience of working with babies and working with Bureau checks were being carried out on all its very early childhood development issues. They are trainees. In that case, we started the processes. But it more likely to have become engaged with play for could be any of the Secretary of State’s learning. They are more likely to be dealing and requirements. engaging with parents in a diVerent sort of way, because the children are much younger, and also because of the prior learning that may or may not Q237 Fiona Mactaggart: That’s a kind of hairy one. have taken place in the family up to the point when Give me another one. they are seen by an early years professional. There Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn would also be a diVerent sort of mix of care and edges either side. I do not think that that is a education. I think the teacher, on the other hand, problem, and we are managing to work with it with QTS, even if they are working in the same fairly well. setting, would have a more specialised knowledge of pedagogy in early childhood and would be more Q245 Annette Brooke: Do you collect and publish involved in direct curriculum development and data on the number of teachers each year who train planning. In other words, the teacher would be to work with early years? designing the teaching and learning environment Graham Holley: We collect and maintain data on the and it would be at its sharpest, for example, in the number of early years specialists that we train, and teaching of early reading, where the teacher with this year there were 2,300. We don’t collect and are QTS would have a diVerent level of skills; but the not responsible for collecting data for serving requirement is that they should work in partnership teachers. That is a matter for the Department. together. They should work together in practice. Of course both have a responsibility for delivering the Q246 Annette Brooke: May I move on to another early years foundation stage. So that is where it almost uncomfortable overlap? Given the 14 to 19 comes together—perhaps not seamlessly, but in our reforms, would it not be appropriate for the TDA to experience quite well. take on responsibility for initial training and development of further education teachers? Q242 Annette Brooke: Supposing I am choosing a Graham Holley: That would be for the DCSF or the setting for the nought to five age group—I am quite new Department for BIS to say. It is important to surprised that you are splitting oV nought to three, recognise that for 14 to 19s the TDA is one of eight given that the whole thing about the early years partners. We are set up, as I described, at the other foundation stage is that it makes it a continuum end of the spectrum, to meet the needs of the school through from birth. If I am choosing a setting, I may system. Although there is a need for teachers who are well think that I would be better to go to a setting operating in the 14 to 19 sector to understand how where there is a qualified teacher—the graduate that progression works, there are diVerences between the is on site—rather than an early years professional. FE and schools sectors that we must be mindful of. What can you tell me to give me some reassurance as That said, we are doing a lot of work on 14 to 19 a parent? diplomas, and this year we will be training 20,000 Graham Holley: I shall first explain why I separated secondary teachers to the extent that they need to nought to three. It is because we oVer programmes become knowledgeable about vocational elements through the Training and Development Agency for in their curriculum. We will be training a further Schools for three to seven, but not for nought to 2,500 teachers who need a bit more specialism—we three. It is the CWDC that is responsible, exclusively, are calling it “with experience” of vocational for nought to three. I think the evidence suggests education—and a further 500 will be trained by us that progress and outcomes for children are better through the ITT sector to be specialists in when there is a graduate present on the site and in the vocational territory. setting. That can be the case, and most commonly is the case now for those with QTS, but those holding Q247 Annette Brooke: Clearly, there are quite a few EYPS would also be graduates. As that cadre grows, overlaps with many diVerent bodies. Do you know the need to have a highly qualified person concerned what progress is being made with the remit review of with the child’s development could be one or the the TDA and all the other agencies, and when that other. review might report? Graham Holley: We have been promised the Y outcomes at various points, and although we are Q243 Annette Brooke: I still feel that that is di cult engaging in constructive discussions with the to badge up for parents. Do you think that parents Department about the report and what it might say, will consider them to be absolutely equivalent? we have not yet received the final report. I am not Graham Holley: My guess is that, over a period, they sure when we will receive it. You will have to ask the will vote with their feet if they don’t, but I have every Department when it expects to finalise it. confidence that those with EYPS will deliver on the Annette Brooke: I shall. agenda for which they have been set up. Q248 Mr Stuart: If I may return to my earlier Q244 Annette Brooke: Quite honestly, I don’t see question about the standard or measure of the why you don’t grasp the nettle and put forward a educational qualifications of the teaching work case for you taking all the training under your force, do you do any sampling of new trainees to get umbrella and, for example, making sure that all an idea of their basic skills? As a Member of primary school teachers have some training in the Parliament, I am struck by the lack of some of the nought to five age group so that we have continuity. basic skills of people entering the teaching Graham Holley: Our role—this is the why the TDA profession. has been successful—is to have a clear focus on Graham Holley: I suppose that the first thing to say children of compulsory school age. That is what we is they must all pass QTS skills tests in numeracy, were set up to do, and at both ends that is what we literacy and ICT. Those tests are designed to concentrate on, taking account of those with examine whether they can use such skills in an responsibility for those phases that are just on the occupational context. In addition, of course, they Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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15 June 2009 Michael Day, Liz Francis, Graham Holley and Dr Jacqueline Nunn must all be graduates, and they must have a range of question, do you use techniques such as Myers- other academic qualiﬁcations before they can even Briggs, or perhaps updated methods, to assess apply to initial teacher training. We do not sample whether the personality is right for teaching? skills after that. Graham Holley: Some providers do, but we are developing the diagnostic tool that I mentioned earlier to get into some of those softer sorts of skill. Q249 Mr Stuart: Obviously the TDA would have a The academic entry levels are easy to measure. What role in any overall quality measures of the work is also important to becoming a good teacher is force. For all the talk of changing structures and the having resilience, communication skills and freedom, or lack of it, of various institutions, it empathy with young people, for example. The tool always seems to me that the quality of the work force that we are developing, which we will pilot from is the biggest determinant of improved teaching and September, will enable providers to accept thus of outcomes for our children. candidates with those sorts of skill more readily. Michael Day: I just wanted to say the same thing, Graham Holley: Yes. We rely on Ofsted to say basically. We are working with a company at the whether the important thing that is happening is that moment to devise a test that will do the kind of thing we have good teachers in our schools. Increasingly, that you are asking for, and we will be piloting that— the evidence is that we do. As I said at the beginning, Chairman: Perhaps you should get Professor Alan Ofsted said about three years ago that we had the Smithers to do some more work. Didn’t he discover best tranche of new teachers, and we replace about at one stage that physics teachers didn’t really like 10% of the work force every year with new teachers. children, or something like that? Thank you very much for that session. Will you remain in touch with us. We want to make the report as good as we Q250 Chairman: It is interesting that Ofsted also possibly can, but we must ﬁnish this session, because says that the number of teachers who stand down we are waiting for the new Minister to join us, and I from teaching because they are not up to the job is believe that he is in the corridor. Thank you very surprisingly small. To follow on from Graham’s much for your attendance today.

Supplementary memorandum submitted by the Training and Development Agency for Schools Qs 221, 222 and 223, Monday 15 June 2009 1. Increases in graduate starting salaries generally appear to be slowing after a number of years of substantial inflation. Findings published by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR)1 in June 2008 show that the median graduate starting salary in 2008 had risen by only 2%, compared with 7.1% in 2005. This took the median starting salary across all sectors to £24,500. It comes as no surprise that London leads the median-salary field with a median graduate starting salary of £28,375.2 When London and the South East are removed from the national figures, the UK regional diVerences year-on-year in median salary are relatively small. 2. This cooling of the graduate labour market across England should, however, be seen in the context of extremely high increases in graduate starting salaries in preceding years. As a result teacher salaries are eVectively no more competitive than they were at the time of the last pay settlement. 3. Starting salaries for graduates remain influential, and tend to be highest in “numerate” or technical sectors which compete with teaching to attract substantial numbers of mathematics, science and ICT graduates. Average starting salaries in Investment Banking (£36,000), Actuarial work (£28,000), Consulting (£27,600), IT (£25,000) and Science (£24,000) are all above the equivalent starting salaries for teaching posts outside of London (£20,627).3 4. However, caution prevails as graduate employers look ahead to 2009. An increase in starting salary levels merely to cover the rise in the cost of living (however substantial that may currently be) seems the way to go for almost half (47%). Just a tenth anticipate raising graduate starting salaries above the cost of living, a figure which has almost halved in comparison to that in the 2007 summer review. Very nearly a quarter are not expecting their salaries to change at all.4 5. AGR members expect that the number of graduates they recruit in 2009 will remain stable, after large increases in the last five years (including 11.7% growth in 2008). It should be noted, though, that AGR members’ forecasts of recruitment can be over-optimistic (in 2005, for example, members predicted they would be oVering 16.7% more vacancies than the previous year. In fact, recruitment only increased by 5.2%). More than half of AGR members (56.2%) oVered more graduate vacancies in 2008 than the year before, against only 23% who oVered fewer. Although competition for the best-quality graduates remains intense

1 The AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey 2008, Summer Review. 2 Ibid, table 1.22. 3 Ibid, table 1.23. 4 Ibid. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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and some graduate employers face challenges in filling vacancies with suitably qualified people, fewer are reporting diYculty in filling vacancies than in previous years. In 2007, 31.3% of recruiters reported diYculty in filling vacancies. This number has now fallen to 25.3%.5 6. Participants on Employment Based Initial Teacher Training Schemes (EBITTS), such as the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), are paid a salary on either the qualified or unqualified teacher pay scale. GTP participants must be paid at least the minimum of point one on the unqualified teacher pay scale but schools have some discretion as to which pay scale is used. As a result, any amendments to this scale will have a potential impact on recruitment to (and retention on) these programmes. It is not within TDA’s remit to make specific recommendations on pay levels. 7. In summary, these routes into teaching have expanded rapidly in the last five years, and have now begun to plateau as schools’ demand for trainees is met. These schemes recruited nearly 7,000 entrants in the most recent full year of recruitment (2007–08), slightly more than a fifth of the total number of new entrants across all routes. Recruitment so far for this academic year is slightly lower than at the same point last year. Anecdotal feedback from training providers suggests that this is primarily due to a dropping oV in demand from schools for trainees. Feedback suggests that demand among applicants for places on these routes is still strong, with serious competition for available places. Moreover, completion rates for EBITTS remain higher than for “traditional” HEI-based teacher training. This evidence suggests that, for EBITTS at least, current salary levels are suYcient to attract and retain applicants. 8. The TDA are in the process of commissioning the development and implementation of a portal which will provide information on all available GTP provision. Eligible enquirers will also be able to apply to a course directly through this portal. The intention is to improve access to information regarding EBITTS and which schools oVer training places. July 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Department for Children, Schools and Families Summary 1. Context and quality — The Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) is responsible for the children’s workforce in schools and remits teacher training to the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and leadership training to the National College of School Leadership (NCSL). It also commissions other training providers to develop and carry out speciﬁc Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities. — Teacher quality is deﬁned by reference to the framework of teacher standards, and Ofsted inspection criteria.

2. Initial Teacher Training — We propose to test non academic entry criteria for ITT and to pilot better attraction and selection arrangements. — Trainee places are managed in relation to demand. — The range of routes into teaching is suYcient to attract a diverse range of entrants (new graduates, mature and from black and minority ethnic groups) — ITT continues to deliver high quality newly qualiﬁed teachers (NQTs) to the labour market. Over 85% consider their training good or very good preparation for teaching, and only those meeting QTS standards pass. — Substantial periods of ITT are spent in schools, which is a major factor in preparing eVective teachers. There have nevertheless been concerns (from Ofsted or other reviews) about the adequacy of particular groups of entrant: — claims that too little time is spent by PGCE primary teachers on particular subjects, eg maths, phonics, PE, RE, and music during the 12 weeks in HEI-based training. This is supplemented by learning from school mentors. They also study on their own and continue learning through induction and CPD; speciﬁc responses for these sectors are described — keeping providers up to date—addressed by TDA conferences and actions, or by commissioning new resources, eg from subject associations. — early years ITT does not prepare trainees to work with babies or very young children (birth to three), but additional training is available that would cover 0–3 child development for those who wish to work with children under three.

5 Ibid. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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— Plans already in hand to address other needs include: — TDA has invited good providers to place trainees in challenging schools — the primary language programme has contributed to 84% of primary schools teaching languages at key stage 2 — the range of new courses and support for SEN ITT — the range of types of ITT provision to accompany the new 14–19 diplomas.

3. Continuing Professional Development — Research reports that eVective CPD can improve teaching practice, morale, pupil attainment and motivation. — Performance management links CPD and teacher standards. — A new Masters in Teaching and Learning is being developed. — NCSL’s impact is described (eg 88% of school leaders who have been on their programmes think that they have developed their leadership skills). — A range of speciﬁcally focused CPD includes the National Strategies, Science Learning Centres and the work of the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching of Maths

Introduction 1. DCSF published its 2020 Children and Young People’s Workforce Strategy in December 2008 with the aim of ensuring that every child meets their full potential and achieves the five outcomes spelt out in Every Child Matters. Everyone in the schools workforce must have the skills necessary to work eVectively with children, young people and families. 2. Remodelling of school workforces has helped to bring support to teachers, so that they can concentrate on teaching. 3. The Children’s Plan One Year On (December 2008) said that we need to provide personalised teaching and learning for all children so they are supported and stretched and have the best opportunities to fulfil their potential. Improving teacher quality is one of the biggest drivers for improving educational standards. We want teaching to attract the highest quality of entrants. That is why we have set out to make teaching a Masters level profession. 4. The New Opportunities White Paper (January 2009) has proposed new ways to raise the quality of entrants to initial teacher training (ITT), and to encourage more of the most eVective teachers to work in the most challenging secondary schools. We will be working with both NCSL and TDA to develop a new approach to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) delivery through groups of schools working collaboratively. 5. Ofsted said the proportion of good or outstanding maintained schools inspected since 2005–06 has risen by five percentage points and in 2004 Ofsted said the quality of teaching had improved considerably over the previous decade (Ofsted 2004). This is in no small part due to the teachers and other staV who work in them; and that ITT programmes are designed well and that trainees are highly motivated and enthusiastic. In moving to a world-class profession we have to recognise that whilst ITT and induction serve us well they can only ever cover so much. CPD helps teachers to continue developing, so the workforce is committed to improvement and has the status it deserves.

1. Measuring Quality (a) the extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching. Standards and Inspection 6. We measure teaching against Professional Standards and Ofsted’s inspection framework. A range of evidence will have fed into them over time, and some of this is summarised in Annex 1. 7. The TDA developed a comprehensive set of teacher standards from Qualiﬁed Teacher Status (QTS) through to Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs). Standards are now in place for the workforce at all levels from the award of QTS through to teachers on the main scale (core), teachers on the Upper Pay Scale (post threshold), Excellent Teachers and ASTs. Professional Standards are statements of a teacher’s professional attributes, knowledge and understanding and skills. We are now consulting on standards for school leaders. 8. Ofsted’s Framework for Inspection of Schools (September 2005) and its evaluation schedule asks inspectors to judge how well teaching and resources promote learning; enjoyment and achievement; address the full range of learners (including black and minority ethnic pupils, those with learning diYculties and/or disabilities, and meet course requirements); suitability and rigour of assessment; planning and monitoring of the learners’ progress and diagnosis of and provision for additional learning needs; and, where appropriate, involvement of parents and carers. These criteria on the quality of teaching and assessment should also provide schools and LAs with a shared sense of quality in teaching. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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9. Ofsted report that where teaching and learning are most eVective, teachers are enthusiastic and knowledgeable and have the confidence to encourage pupils’ independent learning.6 10. The Williams Review defined good quality teaching in Maths as including three distinct areas; deep subject knowledge, knowledge of maths-specific pedagogy and coaching and mentoring skills. The department are developing a programme of CPD to train primary Maths Specialists around these areas. 11. The Rose Review of Early Reading defined key characteristics of what good quality teaching of reading looked like and the Department is working with TDA to ensure that all ITT providers adequately prepare teachers to teach early reading.

Spreading quality through good practice 12. The National Strategies provide guidance and support materials for Quality First Teaching, based on agreed descriptions of good practice (we can provide detail of this if desired). These draw from the collective experience of the workforce (from the NS and schools), research ﬁndings, outcomes for pupils and Ofsted criteria.

(b) The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 13. The revised performance management arrangements ensure that teachers’ performance is regularly reviewed as part of an ongoing “professional dialogue” and that all teachers have development plans which take account of their individual CPD needs and the school’s improvement priorities. The professional standards provide the backdrop for these discussions. 14. Some 34,000 passed QTS standards in 2006–07. Numbers passing the rigorous standards for promotion to AST status are also an indication of particularly high quality with around 4,900 ASTs in post. 15. Ofsted’s evaluation framework judges teaching to be outstanding, good or satisfactory on deﬁnitions reproduced in Annex 2

Surveys can also give impressions of quality: 16. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) asked secondary and primary school teachers of mathematics and science how well-prepared they felt to teach mathematics and science. — England and Scotland had the highest percentages of teachers of 14-year-olds reporting that they felt very well prepared to teach all 18 mathematics topics (95% and 96% respectively). — However, for science at age 14, the percentages were lower at 79% and 68% respectively. — England and Scotland had amongst the highest percentages of primary teachers reporting that they were very well-prepared to teach mathematics (89% and 91% respectively). — England also had one of the highest percentages of teachers reporting high levels of preparedness (68%) for teaching science.

2. Entry into the Teaching Profession (a) the characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT 17. Mckinsey (2007)7 argued that the top-performing school systems consistently attract more able people, leading to better pupil outcomes through developing eVective systems for selecting teachers for teacher training and through oVering good starting compensation. 18. Current entry requirements for ITT are a degree and GCSEs at level 3 or equivalent in English and Maths, and, for primary, science. Trainees also have to pass skills tests in maths, English and information and communications technology (ICT) before qualifying as teachers. 19. Academic standards are not the only factor predicting who will be a good teacher. Soft skills such as communication, empathy, resilience, problem solving and innovation are all part of what makes a good teacher. Current entry requirements other than academic ones are delegated to training providers, using the requirement that they should aim to recruit people who are likely to meet the standards for QTS at the end of their course. These include professional attributes, skills, knowledge and understanding. Ofsted inspects providers on all aspects of their provision including their recruitment, and all providers judge the personal qualities of their applicants. 20. Current economic conditions suggest that there may be increasing interest in teaching, and our intention announced in the New Opportunities White Paper is to ﬁnd ways of increasing the quality of applicants. We asked TDA to design and pilot a diagnostic test to be used by providers in selecting their applicants. The test is due to be piloted from September 2009 for applicants for 2010 courses. 21. Teach First runs a highly selective entry system assessing top undergraduates not only for qualities which would make a good teacher but also for leadership qualities.

6 Ofsted annual report 2005–06. 7 Mckinsey & Company (2007) How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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(b) the appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 22. DCSF maintains models of teacher supply and demand to inform the setting of the number of primary and secondary subject initial teacher training (ITT) places in England so that the projected supply of teachers matches as closely as possible the projected demand. Projected demand is inﬂuenced by three main factors: — Projections of pupil numbers; — Assumptions about the future pupil teacher ratio; and — Additional teachers required by government policies. 23. There is no geographical management of ITT places as NQTs have been regarded as nationally mobile. This has led to some imbalances, eg surplus primary NQTs in the North, while there are vacancies in London. 24. The model makes no distinctions about teacher quality, all trainees aim to meet the QTS standards. TDA make allocations to training providers on the basis of quality categories based on Ofsted inspections of the providers, and bids from the providers. (For more detail see TDA’s evidence) It is possible that trainees from the better providers tend to get more choice of jobs.

(c) whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 25. There are undergraduate routes into teaching, which take three or four years and are predominantly used by primary trainees; postgraduate routes include one year PGCEs ( which can be taken flexibly or part- time over longer periods); and employment-based routes where the trainee is an employee of the school which takes a major role in training him or her. These include the Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP), the Overseas Trained Teacher Programme and Teach First (TF) (which is run by Teach First—a separate organization—and asks trainees to commit to just two years teaching). The Registered Teacher Programme allows a small number of trainees to complete study for a degree while training to teach and can take up to two years to complete. The GTP while normally one year long, can be shorter if the trainee already has relevant teaching experience. 26. Supplementing the routes above are pre-ITT courses at HEIs to help people whose subject knowledge needs improvement to qualify for entry to ITT. These are currently successfully used in maths, physics and chemistry where the pool of available applicants does not generate enough entrants. 27. A new programme Transition to Teaching asks employers to encourage their employees who may be considering a mid career change to consider teaching. This new way of attracting teachers oVers support in deciding whether to apply for ITT, and which existing route to take. 28. Relatively few trainees fail QTS. This is because those who are proving unsuitable or who do not enjoy the teaching practice tend to drop out or be encouraged to leave during the course. In 2006–07 4% of final year trainees left the course, while a further 9% failed to complete QTS, for example by failing skills tests. 29. Ofsted inspected all GTP providers over the period 2003–06 and found diYculties that have been subject to action plans with TDA consultants. From September 2008 TDA introduced a new requirement that at least 60 days of one year GTP programmes should be devoted to training or development. 30. TF, the 9th graduate recruiter in the Times Top 100, recruits highly motivated graduates with outstanding personal qualities and strong subject expertise. The TF oVer brings in people who would do well anywhere and would not otherwise have considered teaching but are attracted to the experience, the sense of mission (working in the most challenging schools), the esprit de corps and the strong TF brand. The TDA is considering how to replicate aspects of TF’s marketing and selection techniques for other ITT routes.

(d) the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 31. TDA agrees targets with individual providers for black and minority ethnic entrants, and TDA set annual targets to increase the diversity of the entrant proﬁle. They achieved a year on year increase in the years up to 2007 entry. 32. DCSF has no direct inﬂuence on the diversity of the existing stock of teachers (or the wider workforce) as schools or local authorities are the employers taking the hiring decisions. 33. One of NCSL’s key objectives is to diversify school leadership. The importance of diversity is stressed in leadership training such as the NPQH. As part of its succession planning strategy, the NCSL undertake a wide range of activities and produce a range of materials to promote diversity. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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Trainee and teacher perceptions 36. TDA runs an annual survey of NQTs’ perceptions of their training. Of those trained in 2007 85% of primary and 86% of secondary said that their training was good or very good. 37. Research findings8 from a longitudinal study of ITT and the first few years of teaching suggest that a higher proportion of trainees who had been employed during training, reported feeling “very confident” that their ITT route had prepared them to be an eVective teacher than the equivalent proportion of PGCE trainees.

Early years 38. The professional standards for QTS and requirements for ITT require trainees to understand and be able to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage framework relating to three to ﬁve year olds. They have to have secure subject knowledge and pedagogy in the age ranges they are training to work with. Accompanying guidance to the professional standards also expects trainees to know the assessment requirements for the EYFS. QTS and ITT do not prepare teachers to work with babies and children under three. However additional training is available for teachers who would like to work with this age group. This includes a number of full and relevant level 3 qualiﬁcations or a graduate pathway to the Early Years Professional Status.

Primary and secondary schools 39. As far as adequacy of ITT for primary and secondary schools are concerned ITT experiences should combine theoretical learning and classroom practice while on placements. These should give trainees the opportunities to try teaching techniques, be observed/critiqued and then reflect and improve their practice. Trainees on PGCE routes spend at least 24 weeks on placements in schools, and they are expected to learn from mentors and others while they are there, in addition to what they learn in the HEI. As primary teachers have to teach all subjects, there can be complaints about the small amounts of training at HEI in given subjects. These must be seen in relation to school-based learning, private study and what they will learn during induction and CPD thereafter. 40. Although high proportions of trainees regard their training as good or very good, and eVective preparation for teaching, surveys of newly qualified teachers (NQTs) reveal whether trainees feel confident about particular aspects of their training—for example last year although 82% said their training was adequate preparation to teach phonics and early reading, only 43% said they felt the course had prepared them well or very well. TDA has been working with National Strategies to give support to training providers in this field. 41. Ofsted has said that TF has produced some of the best trainees (in challenging secondary schools) and we can expect that the teaching of those who remain in teaching will continue to be the best. Further, we can assume that many of these successful teachers will go on to become outstanding young school leaders, many via the Teaching Leaders and Future Leaders programmes. During 2009 TF will supply data which measure the impact of the scheme including the numbers going into leadership.

New TDA Units on Special Educational Needs(SEN) and Disability for ITT Courses 42. All children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) deserve the best possible chance to make progress and realise their potential. 43. In February 2004,9 the Government committed to improve provision for children with SEND. Amongst the commitments made was one to work with the TDA and ITT providers to improve SEN coverage within ITT. This commitment was reiterated in the Children’s Plan, published in December 2007. £18 million was pledged over the next three years to improve SEN provision and, of this, some £12 million is being devoted to improving training.

8 A J Malderez, A Tracey, L Giannakaki, M S Kerr, K Pell, R G Chambers, GN Tomlinson,PD&Roper, T (2006) Becoming a Teacher: Student teachers’ experiences of initial teacher training in England, DfES. 9 Removing Barriers To Achievement, February 2004. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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44. With DCSF funding, TDA is undertaking a range of practical projects, including support for tutors and work to develop new specialist SEN and disability study units for ITT courses.

45. Following piloting, specialist units for primary undergraduate ITT courses were launched by the TDA in June 2008 together with a model scheme for arranging and managing extended placements for trainees in special provision (special schools and specially resourced provision in mainstream schools). Similar resources for secondary undergraduate ITT courses and PGCE courses (primary/secondary) are being developed for release in 2009.

46. £500,000 has been made available to support dissemination of the primary resources amongst existing providers of primary ITT, using a “cluster” approach—institutions which took part in the piloting are helping other providers to incorporate the materials and the extended placements into their courses. The clusters are also enabling providers to work collaboratively to develop and improve their practice.

47. A three year evaluation of the impact of this work has been commissioned.

Challenging schools 48. The TDA are piloting a challenge grant scheme to encourage top category ITT providers to place their PGCE trainees in National Challenge schools.

14–19 49. From the 2008–09 academic year, we are introducing three levels of Diploma preparation into schools’ ITT (PGCE years) including a basic level of knowledge for all secondary trainee teachers to teach at key stage 4 or post-16 in order to be recommended for the award of QTS; provide funding for “with experience” places for schools’ ITT to provide trainee teachers who specialise in non-Diploma secondary school subjects; and allocation of to ITT providers of Diploma-specialist ITT places. See Annex 3 for details of the three strands.

50. TDA and LLUK are currently working on developing a joint strategy for the CPD of 14–19 practitioners. It is proposed that this will include suggestions for providers of QTS and QTLS courses to ensure that the best elements of both are included in all 14–19 teacher training courses.

Further Education 51. ITT for FE is not the same as for school teachers. FE teacher training leads to QTLS, and trainees do not necessarily have to have a degree. FE ITT has been designed to meet the standards and role descriptions set for teachers in FE including colleges, work based and adult and community learning. DIUS consider it ﬁt for purpose in preparing teachers. Those with QTS moving from schools to FE are required to undertake additional training/CPD to equip them with additional knowledge and skills for the FE sector. As such, DIUS are conﬁdent that teachers transferring are supported to become eVective in FE.

52. A range of other speciﬁc curriculum issues is listed at Annex 3, with the solutions being used to address them.

3. The Delivery of ITT (a) the extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 53. TDA’s outcome based approach to providers gives them wide scope for innovation, as long as they meet the Secretary of State’s Requirements for ITT, and the trainees reach QTS. In addition TDA gives providers grants of various kinds to secure innovation. TDA has also agreed with Ofsted innovation status which allows providers to take risks while removing that element of provision from inspection.

(b) the role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 54. HEIs are a major contributor, providing academic rigour and accreditation as well as resources, and developing subject knowledge. They have consistently the highest quality provision, and great experience in running ITT. (see TDA evidence)

(c) whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 55. TDA disseminates the obligations for partnership and provides “Provider Link Advisers” to support their implementation, and suggest ways of encouraging schools to take placements. (see TDA evidence) Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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(d) the adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 56. TDA facilitates and works in partnership with others to identify and deliver development for those involved with ITT delivery. (see TDA evidence)

(e) the role of educational research in informing ITT provision 57. TDA promotes educational research and its transfer into practice (see TDA evidence).

4. CPD Provision (a) whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent? 58. CPD is key to maintaining and improving the quality of the teacher workforce and enabling the teacher workforce to have the capacity and capability to respond to policy developments. There is evidence10 that eVective CPD impacts on teaching practice, teachers’ conﬁdence in their own professional judgement;11 their commitment to teaching as a career and morale12 and pupil attainment. In terms of pupil outcomes the majority of evidence is impressionistic and anecdotal but there are examples in the research literature.13 Other reported positive outcomes of CPD included pupil attitude; enhancement of student motivation; and more positive responses to speciﬁc subjects (14). If we are to make further progress in improving standards it is essential that teachers continue to further develop their expertise, both as leaders and managers of teaching and learning for each child and as experts in the subject areas they teach.

Induction 59. New teachers face demanding challenges when they take up their ﬁrst teaching post. They are therefore statutorily entitled14 to a personalised programme and reduced timetable, the right support and challenge from an experienced tutor, and opportunities for development to them to improve their teaching. 60. Research conﬁrms that teachers value the support and opportunities they receive. In addition, research15 concludes that “where schools make arrangements for regular observation of trainees, “feedback” sessions, and suYcient non-contact time; where schools have an ethos which encourages professional growth; and where they provide conditions for induction tutors to both pursue their own professional development for the role as well as carry out the role, then they can aid NQT retention and provide bridges both from ITT to the NQT years, and from induction to early professional development. 61. All NQTs must meet the core standards of the framework of professional standards for teachers to complete induction satisfactorily. In this way induction provides further assurances about teacher quality in the system.

Professional development post induction. 62. CPD is a combination of approaches, ideas and techniques that will help teachers manage their own learning and growth. The focus of CPD should be ﬁrmly on impact on pupils as well as the personal development priorities of the teacher. It is not just about going on courses, it can occur in diVerent places and take many forms. Often the most normal collaborative activity can provide the most eVective CPD. It is for teachers in discussions as part of their school’s induction and performance management arrangements to identify and decide upon particular CPD activity. The TDA is supporting the implementation of induction and performance management arrangements in the context of professional standards, by providing guidance to schools and local authorities and monitoring the quality and coverage of CPD

Masters in Teaching & Learning 63. We intend to introduce the new Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) from September 2009. The aim is to build on the talents of teachers by making teaching a Masters level profession, boosting the status of the profession further and creating a world class teaching workforce. The MTL will help to deliver the very best teaching and learning to our children, and bring us into line with the highest performing education systems in the world.

10 MORI (1995), Survey of Continuing Professional Development, London: MORI. 11 Furlong, J, Salisbury, J & Coombes, L (2003), Best Practice Research Scholarships: An Evaluation. 12 EPPI: Cordingley P, Bell M, Rundell B, Evans D (2003), The impact of collaborative CPD on classroom teaching and learning, In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPI-Centre, Social Science Research Unit, Institute of Education, University of London and Moor, H, Halsey, K, Johnson, F, Stott, A and Harland, J (2002), Evaluation of Early Professional Development for Teachers in their Second and Third Years of Teaching—First Interim Report, DfES 13 McGregor D, Gunter B (2001), Changing Pedagogy of Secondary Science Teachers: the impact of a two-year professional development programme, Teacher Development (Journal) Vol 5, 1. pp 59–74, and Ofsted (2002), Continuing Professional Development for Teachers in Schools, London: Ofsted. HMI 410. 14 By the statutory induction guidance and the School Teacher’s Pay and Conditions Document. 15 Ashby, P, Hobson, A J, Tracey, L, Malderez, A, Tomlinson, P D, Tom Roper2, Chambers,GN&Healy, J (2008), Beginner teachers’ experiences of initial teacher preparation, induction and early professional development: A Review of Literature, DCSF. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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64. The new qualification will initially be available to teachers in their first five years of teaching in order to boost significantly the support in the early years of their career, as well as embed the principle of continuous professional development in teaching and learning throughout their careers. Over time it is intended that MTL will be available to all teachers. The MTL will be practice based, building on ITT and induction, and will have immediate relevance to teaching and learning in the classroom. It will mainly be delivered in schools in collaboration with HEIs. Each teacher taking part in the programme will be supported by an in-school coach and an HEI tutor throughout the period of study. 65. The TDA are currently developing the MTL programme and will be rolling it out from September 2009 to NQTs in schools in the North West region and to NQTs in National Challenge Schools. Teachers in secondary schools where 30% or more pupils are eligible for free school meals (FSM) will also be prioritised for rollout of MTL as outlined in the New Opportunities White Paper. Alongside development of the MTL the TDA are also taking steps to strengthen induction, for example co-ordinating improved resources for induction tutors.

CPD for headteachers and leaders 66. On 1 September 2008 the redesigned NPQH was launched nationally. The new programme has been refocused to develop the next generation of school heads to lead the 21st century school: building and developing diverse teams that are multi-skilled and understand the communities they serve. From 1 April 2009, it will be mandatory for all ﬁrst time heads in the maintained sector to hold NPQH before they are appointed to their ﬁrst headship. The recruitment process for NPQH has also been toughened up so that only those “Trainee Heads” who can demonstrate they can take up a headship post within 12–months will be accepted onto the programme.

67. The NCSL is responsible for developing excellent leadership in England’s schools and children’s centres. Since it was founded in 2000, NCSL has provided over 230,000 programme places, with 96% of secondary schools and 79% of primary schools taking part in at least one of its ﬁve core programmes.

68. School leader engagement with NCSL’s core programmes can be shown to have a positive impact on the quality of the school’s leadership and management over time. For example, from 2000–03, the leadership of the headteacher and key staV was judged to be good or better in fewer that two-thirds of cases of schools engaged with NCSL. However, between 2003 and 2005, in 91% of these schools the leadership of the headteacher was judged to be excellent, very good or good.

69. This improvement in school leadership is also having an impact on pupil attainment in those schools engaging with NCSL programmes. For example, between 2003 and 2006, primary schools that had participated in three or more of NCSL’s core programmes achieved a higher rate of improvement in English (5.3%) and maths (4.4%) at Key Stage 2 than other schools (3.4% and 2.7% respectively).

70. Likewise, between 2005 and 2007, the rate of improvement for secondary schools engaged with at least three of NCSL’s leadership development programmes was over four times (5.3% increase in 5!A*–C GCSEs) that of secondary schools that were not involved with this aspect of NCSL provision (1.3% increase in 5!A*–C GCSEs).

71. NCSL works in partnership with school leaders across the country and at all levels of leadership. The success of this approach was reﬂected in a survey undertaken earlier this year:

— 82% of headteachers think that NCSL helps to raise standards

— 88% of school leaders who have been involved with NCSL activities think that their involvement has developed their knowledge and leadership skills.

72. Since 2004 NCSL has developed a growing national network of over 17,000 school leaders. This enables the sharing of best practice and ensures that our very best school leaders are inﬂuencing other leaders, the College and policy-makers on how to secure consistent high standards and quality leadership.

Standards for school leadership 73. The Children’s Plan recognised that leaders of 21st century schools face increasingly complex management challenges and do not always have the right mix of skills to tackle them. Remodelling the leadership team is about new skills but also about developing existing skills, spotting and nurturing talent. A new set of standards for school leadership is being developed to reﬂect the role of the modern school leader. The Department and NCSL launched a statutory public consultation on 18 November 2008, which will conclude on 3 March 2009. During this period the NCSL and Social Partners will actively consult with groups of key stakeholders. The intention is to introduce the standards to schools from September 2009, but this will largely depending on the outcomes of the consultation. The leadership standards will form part of a wider framework of standards for the whole school workforce and will apply to all school leaders. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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Curriculum focused CPD 74. While the Department expects schools to prioritise their choice of CPD, it makes a range of resources and training available, according to curriculum and other priorities, some examples of these are at Annex 4. The biggest investment is made through the National Strategies—their remit covers the whole EYFS in Early Years, literacy and mathematics and Social and Emotional aspects of learning in primary and the core subjects, English, Mathematics, Science and ICT in secondary and work on School Improvement, Leadership and Behaviour and Attendance. 75. There are however a range of other providers or organizations which provide signposts to CPD such as TDA, Subject Associations, National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics and Science Learning Centres etc. 76. The National Strategies currently oVer a range of CPD activity which is designed to enhance and enrich the practice of teachers, subject leaders and others. This is structured on the basis of: (a) what LA and school colleagues say is needed (b) the implications of policy developments and change (c) and the changing nature of schools and schooling brought about by for example, technological change. Comprehensive feedback is always sought following all NS delivered CPD events and this consistently indicates that these are highly valued by practitioners.

Behaviour 77. Findings from The Teacher Voice Omnibus June 2008 Survey on Pupil Behaviour indicated that 83% of the teachers in the survey agreed that they were “well equipped” to manage pupil behaviour. 78. The Department supports continuing professional development of teachers’ capacity to manage behaviour through the work of the National Strategies. This includes giving schools access to high-quality behaviour management training materials and advice from expert behaviour management consultants. 79. The Department has also developed the National Programme for Specialist Leaders in Behaviour and Attendance (NPSLBA) for all those who wish to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding in behaviour and attendance. The programme promotes positive behaviour, regular attendance and the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL), which all make a vital contribution to pupil achievement and school improvement. 80. The cumulative number of participants that have passed through the NPSLBA programme as of December 2008 is 3,700. To date £7.96 million has been spent on the programme.

Inclusion Development Programme for Serving Teachers—SEN 81. The programme being taken forward by TDA includes resources for tutors, mentors and beginner teachers during the induction period. In addition to work designed to improve coverage of SEN and disability, the Department is taking action to raise conﬁdence levels of those teachers and other staV already in post. Operating through the National strategies, the DCSF-funded Inclusion Development Programme is producing specially commissioned training materials on areas of SEN known to present diYculty: — speech, language and communication needs and dyslexia—rolled out May 2008; — children on the autism spectrum—to issue 2009; — behavioural, emotional and social diYculties—to issue 2010 82. A three year evaluation of the impact of the IDP on improving teachers in teaching children with SEN and disabilities has been commissioned.

SEN Coordinators coming new to the role 83. SEN co-ordinators (SENCOs) have a key role within schools in ensuring that provision matches the needs of individual pupils. They are also an important point of contact for parents. Responding to concerns expressed by the then Education and Skills Select Committee in their 2006 report on SEN, the Government has committed itself to strengthening the position of SENCOs in schools. Regulations have been laid before Parliament to ensure that SENCOs are qualiﬁed teachers and work is in hand to ensure that all those coming new to the role receive training. This will be mandatory.

Postgraduate training in SEN and disability for experienced teachers 84. A modular postgraduate course has been developed and piloted by a consortium of ﬁve HEIs, linked to local authorities with 50 teachers. Content is to meet identiﬁed needs of schools and courses have been delivered by a blend of learning modules, e-learning, and practical action research. Evaluation of the pilot by the universities involved showed the course to have been very eVective in building teachers’ knowledge, understanding and skills and 38 are going on for a further year to complete a full Masters degree. The model for the course will be disseminated nationally. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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Supporting leadership skills in relation to SEN and disability 85. We recognise that leadership skills exercise a signiﬁcant inﬂuence over the ethos of schools, and the extent to which schools are perceived to treat SEND as a priority and make them a welcoming place for pupils with SEND and their parents. Building on our other work to strengthen workforce skills, we announced in the Children’s Plan One Year On progress report that we would work with the National College for School Leadership to embed high aspirations for pupils with SEND in school leadership training. This will form part of the £7 million investment in mainstream programmes 2009–11.

Achievement for All 86. More needs to be done to ensure that pupils with SEN and disabilities fulﬁl their potential and achieve the outcomes they need for success in their adult lives. Achievement for All will demonstrate best practice in improving outcomes for pupils with SEND and help schools rethink their approach to, and expectations of, these pupils. The aims of Achievement for All are to develop, through the National Strategies approaches in 10 local authority areas that can be rolled out nationally.

Challenging schools 87. Teachers can be deterred by the real or perceived challenges of working in schools with high numbers of disadvantaged children. In the New Opportunities White Paper we have announced for new teachers coming in to work in challenging schools a £10,000 “golden handcuff” for staying three years in a challenging school, bespoke school-based course of CPD to support the whole school workforce in meeting the challenges of such schools, early access to the new Masters in Teaching and Learning, and access to a network of teachers from other participating schools to share eVective practice.

14–19 88. Over £80 million has been invested in workforce support to date. Schools and employers supported to SOS in January 2009 that progress in teaching the Diploma in its first term had been excellent and 83% of those trained last year specifically reported a positive impact on their development, mainly in terms of increased knowledge and understanding and greater confidence. 89. Also a process has been introduced to help diploma delivery consortia develop workforce plans and ensure that they get the support they need. This involves each consortium having a dedicated “professional development conversation” with a Consortium Leadership Consultant, at which they review the skills of their current workforce and plan the support needed to deliver Diplomas and functional skills in future years. 90. In addition, we have been working closely with a wide range of partner organizations to ensure that the training on oVer is genuinely tailored to meet the identified needs of consortia. The resulting package includes some core elements covering functional skills; the structure of the Diploma; collaborative delivery; experience of a sector-relevant working environment; assessment; and diploma administration. The rest is completely flexible and locally-customised to respond to diVerent levels of skills, knowledge and understanding. It is a comprehensive oVer available to every member of every consortium delivering in 2009.

(b) The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. 91. Funding for CPD generally is included within schools’ delegated budgets and it is for schools to determine how to spend this based on individual needs and the schools’ own development/improvement priorities. No data is routinely collected centrally on what type of CPD activity schools spend their funding or how eVective it is. Given the diversity of CPD, and the complex interrelationship between individual, structural and cultural factors, it is extremely diYcult to measure the impact of CPD. 92. TDA provides web guidance on evaluating the impact of training, and monitors the impact of its own CPD provision. Other organisations involved in CPD also assess their impact, for example: (a) The National Strategies’ (NS) arrangements for tracking the impact of their CPD include comprehensive evaluations completed by all participants at all events that are used to inform the planning of future events; — surveys focused on aspects of delivery and content, termly Monitoring and Evaluation reports on impact measures and opportunities taken to gain responses from LA colleagues, teachers and heads less formally. — Data on pupil outcomes is also used to corroborate these judgements. — All NS CPD is precisely costed and when this is set against the above judgements, Value for Money can be assessed. (b) Each of the main organisations running STEM subject CPD collects data from teachers who receive professional development and act on this to improve on their service. The department receives regular progress reports when invoices are claimed and face-to-face contract management Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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meetings take place at least once a term to discuss outcomes against spend to ensure programmes deliver value for money. Recommendations from recent evaluations have been incorporated into the contracts for each of the above organisations. (c) Our programmes are subject to independent evaluation to assess quality. The independent evaluation of the NCETM concluded that much has been achieved to illustrate the potential of the Centre to raise standards in mathematics teaching and improve institutional performance, and identiﬁed that the Centre is having positive impacts on the teachers engaging with the variety of approaches it oVers for professional development. (d) The independent evaluation of the Network of Science Learning Centres found that the Centres are having positive impacts on the educators they work with, their colleagues in schools and colleges and the pupils they teach. The regional SLCs have exceeded their target of 10,250 teacher training days for the past two years. The National Centre delivered 4,264 teacher training days last year. February 2009

Annex 1 RESEARCH EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVE TEACHERS 1.1 A report by Mckinsey and Company16 argued that the available evidence suggests that the biggest driver of the variation in pupil learning is teacher eVectiveness. They outline that studies exploring teacher eVectiveness show that pupils placed with high-performing teachers perform three times better than those placed with low-performing teachers. 1.2 There is no single set of teacher attributes and behaviour that is universally eVective for all types of learning environments and pupils. However, a consistent finding is that eVective teachers are intellectually capable and able to think, communicate and plan systematically (OECD,17 2005). Positive relationships have been found between teachers’ academic qualifications and pupil achievement. 1.3 Reviews of literature18 have identified a number of characteristics of eVective teachers: — they teach the class as a whole; — they present information or skills clearly and animatedly; — they keep the teaching sessions task-oriented; — they are non-evaluative and keep instruction relaxed; — they have high expectations for achievement (give more homework, pace lessons faster and create alertness); — they relate comfortably to students (reducing behaviour problems). — professionalism (challenge and support, confidence, creating trust and respect for others); — thinking (analytical and conceptual); — planning and setting expectations (drive for improvement, information seeking and initiative); — leading (flexibility, holding people accountable, managing pupils, passion for learning); and — relating to others (impact and influence, team working and understanding others). 1.4 A review by Wilson et al (2001)19 found a positive connection between teachers preparation in their subject matter and student performance but also noted that there appears to be a threshold of subject matter knowledge necessary for eVective teaching beyond which higher levels (as measured by academic qualifications) are not associated with student gains. 1.5 Day et al20 examined the relationship between teacher eVectiveness and the interplay of factors which impact on teachers’ work and personal lives. It found that teachers’ eVectiveness is not simply a consequence of age or experience but is influenced by their professional life phase; their sense of professional identity; their commitment and resilience; leadership and continuing professional development.

16 Mckinsey & Company (2007) How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top. 17 OECD (2005), Teachers Matter: Attracting, Developing and Retaining EVective Teachers, OECD, Paris. 18 Ellis, E S, Worthington, L A and Larkin, M J (1996) Research synthesis on eVective teaching principles and the design of quality tools, Worthington National Center to Improve the Tools of Educators and McBer, H (2000) A Model of Teacher EVectiveness, DfEE. 19 Wilson, S, Floden, R, & Ferrini-Mundy, J (2001) Teacher preparation research: Current knowledge, gaps, and recommendations, Washington, DC: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy. 20 Day, C, Stobart, G, Sammons, P, Kington, A, Gu, Q, Smees, R & Mujtaba, T (2006) Variations in Teachers’ Work, Lives and EVectiveness, DfES. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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1.6 Key conclusions from the “Achieving world class teacher standards”/Cabinet OYce Strategy Unit (October 2007) project were as follows: — The quality of recruits is the most important long-term driver of teacher quality.The quality of new recruits is driven by attracting a pool of good applicants through high status routes and implementing strict selection criteria. — CPD is the most important short term factor in raising teacher quality.Teachers need opportunities to engage in frequent, collaborative CPD. — The overall quality of the profession requires the retention of eVective teachers and the exit of the ineVective.

Annex 2 OFSTED DESCRIPTION OF OUTSTANDING, GOOD OR SATISFACTORY TEACHING

Outstanding (1) Teaching is at least good in all major respects and is exemplary in signiﬁcant elements. As a result, learners thrive and make exceptionally good progress. Good (2) Learners make good progress and show good attitudes to their work, as a result of eVective teaching. The teachers’ good subject knowledge lends conﬁdence to their teaching styles, which engage all groups of learners and encourage them to work well independently. Classes are managed eVectively. Learners respond to appropriate challenges. Based on thorough and accurate assessment that helps learners to improve, work is closely tailored to the full range of learners’ needs, so that all can succeed including those with learning diYculties and/or disabilities. Learners are guided to assess their work themselves. Teaching assistants and other classroom helpers, and resources, are well deployed to support learning. Good relationships support parents and carers in helping learners to succeed. Satisfactory (3) Teaching is inadequate in no major respect, and may be good in some respects, enabling learners to enjoy their education and make the progress that should be expected of them. Teaching promotes positive behaviour and learning.

Annex 3 FURTHER CURRICULUM ISSUES RELATED TO ITT 3.1 The Williams Review raised concerns about the small amount of time primary ITT students spend on maths, particularly during PGCE. There was recognition that longer term, ITT would need to be looked at to bring teachers up to the necessary “Maths Specialist” level being developed in CPD. 3.2 The PE and sport sector has expressed concern about the limited amount of time devoted to covering the compulsory PE programmes of study within ITT for primary teachers. TDA has given guidance as to how best to give extra time for PE in centre-based sessions. 3.3 There will be a non statutory entitlement to language learning for pupils in Key Stage 2 by 2010 and modern foreign languages will become part of the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 from September 2011. To support the introduction of primary languages, the DCSF is funding TDA to develop and manage a programme of ITT with an additional specialism in French, Spanish, German or Italian. The courses include a period of school-based training in the country of their chosen language specialism and equip trainee teachers to teach a language within the primary curriculum. Nearly 4,000 new teachers have been trained so far. This has contributed to interim findings (NFER Language Learning Provision at Key Stage 2: Findings from the 2007 Survey published in June 2008) that 84% of primary schools are already teaching languages at key stage 2 within class time. 3.4 There is currently no ITT provision for PSHE. However, we are currently exploring the option of a specialist PSHE route through ITT, with a view to running a pilot of 100 PSHE places in the 2010–11 academic year. 3.5 An Ofsted report Making Sense of Religion (2007) found that that primary ITT courses provide very little training about teaching RE and later professional development did not compensate for this. Primary teachers’ lack of secure subject knowledge was a key factor limiting the amount of good and outstanding teaching in RE. The TDA supports subject organisations to develop subject specific resources for ITT tutors and trainers (both primary and secondary); with RE-Net leading on Religious Education. These Subject Resource Networks aim to ensure that all ITT trainers have up-to-date information on, for example, pedagogy and guidance in the subject area. All subject networks are developing resources addressing how pupils learn within specific subjects. 3.6 The Music sector has expressed concern about the limited amount of time devoted to covering the compulsory Music programmes of study within ITT for primary teachers. Primary teachers lack confidence in their own ability to sing with and teach instruments to their classes. Through Sing Up—the National Singing Programme and through the Government funded vocal and instrumental whole class teaching CPD Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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programme primary teachers can gain skills and conﬁdence needed to teach music. We also encourage partnership working with musicians from the Local Authority Music Service and other professional musicians. 3.7 From the 2008–09 academic year, we are introducing three levels of Diploma preparation into schools’ ITT (PGCE years) to respond to 14–19 diploma developments:

Strand 1: basic level of knowledge for all trainee teachers 3.8 All secondary trainee teachers training to teach at Key Stage 4 or post-16 are required to demonstrate an appropriate level and range of knowledge and understanding of the new 14–19 Diplomas in order to meet all the standards for the award of QTS and to be recommended for QTS.

Strand 2: “with experience” Diploma ITT places 3.9 In 2008–09 the TDA is funding 684 “with experience” places for schools’ ITT to provide trainee teachers, who specialise in non-Diploma secondary school subjects, with the additional knowledge and experience to apply their specialist subject to teaching a particular Diploma line at level 2.

Strand 3: Diploma-specialist ITT 3.10 Over 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2010–11, TDA have allocated to ITT providers Diploma-specialist ITT places. A trainee teacher following one of these courses will specialise in a Diploma line, in the same way that secondary trainees currently specialise in a school subject. This will include a placement in a Diploma- teaching school. Some of these are newly funded places; for some TDA are supporting providers to convert existing vocational-subject ITT places to Diploma ITT places (eg health and social care places converting to society, health and development places). 3.11 Teach First trainees who are teaching in Diploma-teaching schools receive experience of Diploma teaching during the ﬁrst year of their placement.

Annex 4 CURRICULUM FOCUSED CPD 4.1 The Williams review highlighted the disparate nature and lack of focus of Primary Teachers’ mathematics CPD—there were a lot of short courses available on a wide range of subjects but these were not necessarily taken up in line with key priorities. The recommendation for a maths specialist available to every primary school, with specifically designed CPD, was made in response to this situation. 4.2 One of the key workstrands within the PE and Sport Strategy for Young People is the national PE and Sport Professional Development Programme. This has been running since 2003 and Ofsted confirms that it is having a positive impact on raising standards of teaching and learning in physical education. Evaluative feedback from those experiencing the programme shows that around 97% of them rate the experience satisfactory or better and 97% of those anticipate a positive impact on practice. 4.3 Lord Dearing’s Languages Review found that currently there is no single route through which support is directed to secondary languages teachers and that there are a number of support organisations with complex and overlapping roles. The DCSF is setting up a network of regional support centres to provide languages CPD for primary, secondary and further education teachers. The centres, which will begin operation in 2009, are intended to reduce duplication and present a coherent oVer and contribute to increasing the quality of language teaching and learning in schools and colleges. To train and support existing primary school teachers to teach languages, the Government is providing some £32 million a year to local authorities through the Standards Fund. This, together with the new ITT languages specialism, has so far helped to ensure that 84% of primary schools are teaching languages at key stage 2 in class time. The regional centres are not yet operational, but their impact will be evaluated. 4.4 In order to improve the quality of teaching and learning in geography, the Government is funding a number of initiatives through the Royal Geographical Society and the Geographical Association. These include the development of the Geography Teaching Today website and the Chartered Geographer (Teacher) status. 110 applications for Chartered Geographer (Teacher) status have been approved so far. 4.5 The Department is currently supporting CPD in STEM subjects as follows: — Science Learning Centres’ (SLC) ultimate aim is to ensure that pupils experience a science education that equips them for their future lives and promotes continued interest in science for further study as a career option. The aim is supported by a series of goals including enhancing educators’ professional skills by introducing contemporary scientific ideas, providing training in eVective teaching approaches and oVering experience of modern scientific techniques. This form of CPD demands the commitment of educators and their employers and represents a cultural change for many. — National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) (launched in June 2006) aims to improve the teaching of mathematics by facilitating the provision of appropriate, accessible and eVective professional development activities. The NCETM seeks to address many of the barriers Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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to participation in professional development activities, including an on-line resource and network of Regional Coordinators. The centre also works collaboratively with its regional and national partners, providing events and funding to support regional projects and networks. NCETM aims to ensure quality. — We have contracted the Design and Technology Association to provide Digital Design and Technology CPD to improve teacher skill and support. This includes training on how to use industrial quality computer packages for Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacture and electronics. — We also provide CPD for teachers to improve teaching and learning on basic cooking skills as part of the License to Cook programme where students aged 11–16 have an entitlement to learn basic cooking skills and nutritional information. 4.6 The SLC, NCETM and Design and Technology Association are responsible for coordinating CPD activity by engaging with a range of other CPD agencies such as the Specialist Schools Advisory Trust, local authorities, National Strategies and all agencies that work directly with schools. All programmes are evaluated through feedback from teachers which in turn lead to improvements being made to programmes. These programmes are subject to independent evaluation to assess quality. Recommendations from recent evaluations have been incorporated into the contracts for each of the above organisations 4.7 The DCSF provides £2 million funding each year to train teachers and professionals who deliver PSHE. Over 8,000 practitioners (primarily teachers) have completed the national PSHE CPD programme since it began in 2003, and there are a further 1,600 practitioners undertaking the programme this year. The programme comprises a PSHE pedagogy module, supplemented by specific modules in: sex and relationships education; drug education; emotional health and wellbeing; and economic wellbeing and financial capability. A new module in recognising and managing risk is under development. In 2007 Ofsted concluded (Ofsted, 2007 Time for change? Personal, social and health education) that due to the PSHE CPD programme “pupils have benefited from improved teaching and learning, including more varied and appropriate teaching methods. The aims of the programme have been met successfully”. (The programme is also open to other professionals who deliver PSHE) 4.8 However, despite being free for teachers, it is worth noting that this programme regularly has spare places, due a lack of demand. This is attributed to the fact that schools are often unwilling to release staV for PSHE training, as they do not see it as a priority. Whilst the National CPD programme is key to driving up standards in the teaching of PSHE education, practitioners may have undertaken other forms of CPD (for example local authority provided INSET). 4.9 Sir Alasdair Macdonald will report to Ministers in April 2009, with recommendations on the most eVective and practicable way forward The TDA have been asked to develop proposals for a specialist PSHE route through ITT, and for CPD resources that meet the needs of those delivering PSHE in schools. 4.10 The Departments’ key objectives for the continuation and development of the Citizenship CPD programme are to continue to raise the profile and standard of delivery of Citizenship through a nationally recognised CPD programme and to increase current levels of participation by teachers in it. The Citizenship CPD programme was launched in 2006 in collaboration with HEIs across the country and they work closely with the Local Authority, NGOs and voluntary groups. The programme is for qualified teachers who currently teach, or aspire to teach, Citizenship Education. 4.11 Although budgets for CPD are held by schools, the Department provides funding which enable the HEIs to oVer the PSHE course free or for a small charge, in order to build specialist capacity. The CPD programme is accredited for 30 CAT points, which can contribute to an MA. However, despite being free for teachers, as with PSHE there is low take up of the training. We have appointed the University of Plymouth, a specialist provider of Citizenship education, to focus on promoting the programme and on improving the uptake to ensure successful recruitment. 4.12 In total over 1,200 teachers have completed specialist Citizenship training. DCSF has published a free CPD handbook Making Sense of Citizenship which was distributed to schools has and has also helped to establish and fund (since 2003) the Association for Citizenship Teaching which provides a focus for professional development amongst teachers and advice, training and support for schools. 4.13 DCSF has invested £1 million in 2008 in an action plan to improve the quality of RE teaching and learning. Building on the non-statutory framework for RE, the Action Plan will support improvements to RE in schools. 4.14 Activities include the production of a CPD handbook to increase the capacity of the workforce to deliver eVective RE. to improve users’ knowledge, understanding and skills in order to raise pupils’ attainment in both learning about and learning from religious education. It will be of immediate practical value to schools in helping them to develop eVective approaches to the subject and to overcome the weaknesses in planning and teaching highlighted by the Ofsted report (2007). It has recently been commissioned through the Association of Religious Education Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (AREIAC) whose membership is made up of RE trainers in the country outside HEIs. The organisation is working with the significant PGCE providers of RE. Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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4.15 It is also worth noting that RE practitioners undertake CPD courses run by providers in RE using standards for CPD produced by AREIAC. Ofsted tells us that provision has improved year on year over the last ﬁve years. However, of course there is unevenness is provision and the support package that has made available through the RE Action Plan will help to address areas of weakness and provide extra support for teachers and pupils. 4.16 Workforce development is a key strand of Sing Up—the National Singing Programme. Anyone who wants to work with children to enhance singing can take advantage of the range of training and CPD opportunities oVered through the programme. The Government also provides over £1 million per year to the Open University and Trinity College to provide CPD to class teachers and musicians to enable them to run whole class instrumental and vocal programmes at Key Stage 2. We encourage partnership working between classroom teachers and music services staV or other professional musicians.

Witnesses: Mr Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and Jon Coles, Director General, Schools Directorate, Department for Children Schools and Families, gave evidence.

Q251 Chairman: I welcome our next witnesses, taken. I have looked and listened hard for people to Vernon Coaker and Jon Coles. Minister, I always say to the Committee, “The training of teachers feel that too much time is spent on congratulations, really needs to be shaken up and started anew” or because they are repeated by everyone and it cuts “We need a vision.” One or two witnesses have taken into the limited time that we have available, but I that more radical approach, but I cannot say that it welcome you and congratulate you on your new has been the majority.Are we a bit complacent about ministerial appointment. Jon, you have appeared the quality of our teacher training? before us previously, but I also congratulate you on Mr Coaker: I don’t think we are complacent and I your appointment. As you both know, this is the don’t think the training providers, the TDA or very important final session of the inquiry into the anyone else are complacent. There is satisfaction training of teachers. Because we have a shortened that there have been improvements, as Ofsted has amount of time, we want to rattle through a fair demonstrated. The quality of recruits to teaching number of questions. We always give the Minister a and the standard of training provision have chance to say something about the topic. If you want improved according to Ofsted. There is a belief that to avail yourself of that opportunity,you have it now there has been significant change and improvement. or you can go straight into questions. It is your The important thing is to set that out and to say it— choice. to give people the confidence to move on to address Mr Coaker: If you don’t mind, Chairman, I shall say some of the issues that still remain. Looking at the a couple of things very briefly. I am grateful to you evidence, I know that some of the inquiry is about for your remarks and I formally thank you and the what happens in early years, about what diplomas Committee. While I hold this post, I intend to work mean for the interaction between qualified teacher very closely with the Select Committee and to look status and FE, and about encouraging people to go carefully at its recommendations. I see our work as into some of our most challenging schools with the a challenge from you but also as a partnership with skills and attitudes we want there. From the evidence you. This is a very important area. I know from my that I have read, I think people were saying that they past experience that, as you will no doubt recognise, felt there was a strong base, but the Committee was all the evidence points to the fact that a motivated saying that there were still issues and asking how we and well trained teaching work force are essential to address them. I agree that there is a strong base, but success in schools. All of us are determined to do all there are issues that we need to look at, to decide how that we can to improve. We already have a high- to challenge them so as to continue the progress that quality work force; it is about how we do even we all want to make. more—to develop skills and attract others. I am pleased that the Committee’s focus is on not only Q253 Chairman: You missed the earlier session, initial teacher training but also continuous obviously. I felt that the question we did not ask professional development. That is essential, not only strongly enough of the TDA and colleagues was for the motivation of individual teachers but also for whether it is sensible for 14–19 education, which is the continuing development and improvement of so important, to have a flow only one way. If you are schools. The dual focus on both those aspects is a trained teacher, you can teach in FE, but if you are absolutely essential. With those brief remarks I set in FE, you cannot teach in regular schools. Does out my intentions and indicate how important I that seem a bit of an anomaly in this day and age, think the Committee’s work is. with diplomas and so much else? Chairman: Thank you. Jon, is there anything you Mr Coaker: It is a challenge for us. As we change the want to say? landscape, and there is increasing movement Jon Coles: I have nothing to add. between school-based situations, further education colleges and work-based type learning, we are Q252 Chairman: You are just going to fend oV the required to look at the sort of structures in place and questions, are you? I shall open the questioning by see whether they are the best. It is important to look saying that a bit of me that feels that in this at that and think about it. Certainly, as you say, the particular inquiry there is something conservative— flow of people back and forth will increase, which is with a small c—about the evidence that we have a good thing. If the diplomas open up that practical Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles base for learning, the opportunities that will give to learning and will mean that people do not just see it young people from 14 to 19, who sometimes did not as ending when they leave school. That is the sort of have such opportunities in the past, are immense. We work force I want and I think it is the sort of work need to reflect on what that means for the way the force everyone aspires to. That work force will system is organised. deliver the schools, and the opportunities within Chairman: Minister, we are going to go to rapid fire those schools, that we want for all our children. questions and answers now. Mr Coaker: Jon will chip in with some of the details, if that’s okay with you—for example, if I get it Q255 Fiona Mactaggart: The element of passion in wrong. what I have just heard is something from which your new Department will benefit. You said at the Chairman: Yes. Of course, I didn’t mention earlier that the Committee understands that you are a beginning that you want “to continue to ensure that member of a dangerous radical group called the we attract the best graduates”, but the truth is that SEA—the Socialist Education Association. I have we are not doing so. The countries that attract the also been a member of that group for many years. best graduates—such as Korea and a number of the Mr Coaker: And the National Union of Teachers far eastern countries—do best in the Progress in as well. International Reading Literacy Studies and Trends in International Maths and Science Studies, and other such things. Countries such as the USA, which Q254 Fiona Mactaggart: Your response to the attract the bottom third of graduates, do worst. We Chairman’s previous question was to say,“We’ve got in Britain do somewhere in between in those a strong base in teacher education, but there are international assessments. How are we to move up some issues that we need to look at.” One of the to always attracting excellent graduates to the things I have picked up from the evidence we have teaching profession? [Interruption.] While you are received is a widespread view that we need looking for the piece of paper that Jon is going to something more than that—we need a recasting of pass you, I will add an anecdote to give you some the vision for teacher education. The demands of time. When I applied to train to be a primary teacher, Every Child Matters are diVerent from the demands a Labour Member of Parliament, who will remain with which teachers used to be faced. Will you give nameless, said to me, “Oh, Fiona, you’re much too us a preview, or maybe just a hint, of what kind of good to be a teacher.” That view still exists in Britain vision we are likely to see in the forthcoming White today, and 12 years of Labour Government haven’t Paper on the teaching profession in the 21st century? changed it. What are we going to do about it? So far, I don’t think we’ve seen a new vision. Mr Coaker: The sort of statement that was made to Mr Coaker: The new professionalism was laid out a you has no place in a modern society. Teaching is a few years ago in the New Opportunities document fantastic, first-class profession for people of the published by the Government across Government. highest ability. As you say, it is important that we try That set out some of the Department’s thoughts on to ensure that we attract the brightest and best the matter.3 The vision for the future of the work graduates. One way to do that is to talk up the force is to continue to ensure that we attract the best profession and say what a fantastic, inspirational graduates to the profession, and that those profession it is. If we just talk about some of the graduates are motivated, have a good grounding in issues and problems, and all those sorts of things, initial teacher training and good inductions. that can sometimes detract from that. With regard to Continuous professional development should then the bit of paper that I was looking for, there has been be available to them as they progress through their progress on recruiting to the profession graduates careers. The vision of teaching is that teachers don’t with a 2:1 degree or above. In 2001–02, 54.7% of just teach a subject—important as that is. Teachers primary PGCE trainees had a first degree of 2:1 or are there to motivate, excite and inspire young above and by 2006–07 that figure had risen to 61.2%. people and generate their interest, so that they In 2001–02, 52% of secondary trainees on the PGCE explore and push against boundaries and barriers. route had a first or a 2:1 and that rose to 57.5%. That The teaching force should be able to ensure that is still not high enough, but some progress has been every young person—whatever their ability,talent or made. We all want to do more. Examples of aptitude—achieves the very best that they can, recruitment to teaching include Teach First, which irrespective of background. That is the sort of work tries to get the brightest graduates to commit to force we want and should seek to generate. If we do spending two years after graduating in teaching, that and build on what we have done, we will start after which they will, we hope, stay in teaching. The to address some of things that bedevil all of us all the latest figures show that 60% are now staying. To get time in terms of breaking the link between the brightest people into teaching is fantastic. education, achievement and social background, and Building on the point that Fiona made, it is also ensuring that whether somebody is a good carpenter, about ensuring that the brightest graduates, and the a good artist or a brilliant linguist or musician, they Russell Group, who come into teaching do not can be taken to the limits of their ability. That will always disproportionately teach in independent create excitement about wanting to continue schools, and stay in the state sector. That is a choice for them, but we encourage them to do so. Alongside 3 Note by Witness: The concept of new professionalism was laid out in the 1998 Green Paper Teachers: meeting the that, as you know, Chairman, Teach First also gets challenge of change. The New Opportunities document was the brightest graduates to go into the most published by the Government in January 2009. challenging schools. 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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles dynamic. People have free choice, but if we talk to brightest children. Part of the increasing amount of people about it and encourage and excite them, I school-based activity in training is to ensure that think we can start to make more of a diVerence, teachers have that breadth of experience. If I look at rather than always looking for a bit of legislation, or my own experience, I learned just as much when I a bit of this or that. Changing attitudes and culture actually went and taught—it is about continuing is important as well. professional development. You are just at the start of your learning when you get your qualified teacher Q256 Fiona Mactaggart: But nearly 30% of status. It is then that you start to learn. I had some independent school teachers come from the top brilliant mentors who taught me, but it was not done universities, compared to 11% in the maintained in a structured way. Increasingly, we need to try to sector. Will your talking up be suYcient? ensure that the quality of professional development Mr Coaker: I think it is a starting point. It is not only that people receive when they are teaching is very about the brightest graduates being able to say, “If well structured and continuous. Some aspects of we go into an independent school we can earn challenging diYcult behaviour or ensuring that the more,” or “the behaviour is better.” We need to say, brightest are motivated, or whatever, must be dealt “We need you, as one of our brightest graduates—as with as teachers learn in school. That is part of what one of the people who succeeded at school—to come we are trying to do through the introduction of the in and work with us to challenge some of the masters in teaching and learning. That type of educational disadvantage that we see.” We need to approach is about trying to push the process along. be talking about that and trying to excite people Chairman: Jon, do you want to come in on that about that, saying, “Bring in your skills to bring point? French, music, drama or art to our inner cities or our Jon Coles: I just want to add a bit to that. Some of challenging estates. You have the opportunity to what is taught in initial training and in early change lives.” I think that talking in those terms does professional development in schools increasingly make a diVerence. On the other hand, if you say,“It’s focuses on the skills of enabling each child to a bit diYcult down there—it’s tough and the kids progress. They are the skills of making precise don’t want to learn,” what are people going to do? judgments across a range of indicators of where People are human. We should be talking in a exactly a child is in their learning and therefore passionate, exciting, inspirational way. Bright determining the logical next step in their learning. graduates are no diVerent from anybody else. They That is a generic teaching skill, in a sense, but it must will be excited by the prospect. It is about putting the be executed very precisely, child by child. That is challenge in front of them in a way that gives them a where we get straight into the issue of continuous real choice to make, rather than just saying, “Come professional development, because those skills are to an independent school. You get paid more and the something that you develop as a teacher through kids behave. Or do you want to go down the road to practice, by setting work, observing response, somewhere where the resources aren’t very good and looking at what a child can understand and working they don’t want to learn?” That is not the choice that one to one with children. An increasingly sharp we should put before people. focus of both initial training and professional development is that people are able to assess pupils’ Q257 Chairman: Minister, I don’t often quote the progress and plan teaching in an individualised way. shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and That is a really important part of addressing the risk Families. that teachers teach to the average in the classroom. Mr Stuart: Shame. Chairman: Thank you for that, Jon. Let us move on Chairman: Today, however, the shadow Secretary of to the initial training routes. State mentioned the correlation between the lack of success in such things as science of so many children who are on free meals. There is this small c Q258 Mr Stuart: Minister, congratulations on your “conservatism” that worries me about the training new post. I have certainly enjoyed your passionate of teachers: are we training them to have the right statement of the importance of teaching now and in skills? It seems to me that we are training them to the years ahead. Before I move on to my specific teach the average child, but we are not specifically question, however, can I put it to you that that training them to engage and teach the most diYcult passion is not enough and that one thing that I hope children—the ones coming from great social you might do as Minister is ensure that all your deprivation. Is that something that we are missing in decision making is looked at through the prism of the training of teachers and as a result not giving ensuring that the decisions you make attract and them quite the appropriate skills? That is not to retain the highest possible calibre of people in posts? disagree with your earlier response, but are we I do not want people to be blamed for lack of training people in the right skills, if we are commitment if they do not want to stay in poorly experiencing this failure to get through to the most disciplined schools in poor areas; I want material diYcult students? changes to discipline and to the powers of teachers Mr Coaker: The teaching providers would say that within those schools, so that they are more likely to they have a balanced approach and that training is remain there and to tell their friends what a great trying to ensure that it is not only the average child career teaching is. However, I will move on from that who benefits but children with special educational point. I am obviously aware, Minister, that you are needs, and that teachers can also stretch the very new in your post. 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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles confident that the new six-month initial teacher works and what can help us, then we can look at the training route is better than simply expanding the whole menu of options that is available to bring number of graduate teacher programme places? graduates into teaching to see whether there is Mr Coaker: I agree that passion is not enough. I something that we can learn from that. There is a would not for one moment say that being able to commitment for two years—the year for the QTS spout some rhetoric will change anything, but it is and the year someone stays and goes into the most important alongside the practical steps. That is the challenging schools—and the fact that 60% stay tells only point that I was trying to make. Of course, us something. This goes back to Fiona’s point. If you when I look at the decisions I make, I will do so can get even the brightest graduates to experience through the prism of what will make a diVerence in schools as they really are, even in the most the classroom to the individual teacher and school. challenging circumstances, many of them will stay. Indeed, one of the things that I always ask, and I Jon Coles: Teach First has obviously grown from have asked this in other posts, is “What is the quite a small start in London where we are talking concrete proposal that we are making?” That means about a hundred or so participants a year, to around that someone sitting in a staV room will be able to 500 participants a year. We have said that that will say, “I understand what is being said”, because it double to 1,000. It will grow quite significantly over impacts on the way that they teach or will impact on the next few years. It will become a pretty significant the teachers in the classroom, with respect either to route. What Sonia Blandford told you when she discipline or to organisation. On the issue of gave evidence to the Committee was that they were graduate employment routes into teaching, the six- very clear that they had a very specific mission, month route is new. We intend to pilot it in London which was about getting people who would not with a small number of places later this year. It is in otherwise have come into teaching to do so and to specific response to some individuals who said that teach in the most challenging schools. If that remains they would appreciate a compressed period of time their mission, they will grow to a particular size, but to look at whether they could train to be a graduate we need a whole range of other teachers, including teacher in six months and then move into the those who want to go into teaching in the first place teaching profession. We are piloting it to see whether and those who want to teach in a wider range of we can say with confidence that it is an appropriate schools in the system. In a sense, their growth to route. 1,000 is a big expansion, but we don’t know at this point whether they want to grow further than that. Q259 Mr Stuart: Does the fact that many primary trainees receive only six hours of training in the Q261 Mr Stuart: Further to the Chairman’s earlier foundation subjects reflect very low expectations for question, there has been great consensus today on primary teaching and what primary pupils can be the central importance of attracting the best people expected to achieve? into teaching, and retaining and motivating them. Mr Coaker: No, I don’t think so. Again, there are a The ugly corollary of that is the need to remove those number of routes into teaching. Look at the number who are not up to scratch, however decent people of people doing a first degree in primary education they may be, from the profession. Generally and coming out as qualified teachers. They will do a speaking, the Committee struggles to get witnesses lot of subject work within that. Those taking the before us who do more than suck their breath postgraduate route into primary education will do a because they do not want to talk about things. number of hours on a subject. Clearly they are Minister, will you tell us what you can do to stop the spending a lot of time in school, where we would also educational establishment—if it is to blame— expect them to be doing subject-related work. It is politicians, or whoever is at fault, failing to address that school-based practice that we think is essential. the central need to help those who would be better We should not see the time when someone becomes doing something else find an alternative career? a qualified teacher as the end of their learning and Mr Coaker: The first thing to say is that, obviously, their development. That is the point—again I am you would wish to support people in schools if they repeating myself—and that is why people see are struggling. I have seen examples of many people continuing professional development as so who struggled in the first instance, but who have important. turned out to be excellent teachers. That is an important point to make. There are regulations, such as those relating to performance management Q260 Mr Stuart: In some senses, you have already answered this, but do you see Teach First as a in schools, which are available to schools, head success? If so, what are your plans for it for the teachers and governing bodies should they believe future? that somebody is not teaching to the acceptable Mr Coaker: We have said that we have a limited standard. Those procedures should be followed expectation of Teach First in terms of the numbers where appropriate, but, as I have said, that is a but great expectations in terms of its impact. I think matter for the schools and governing bodies. Those we should look at things like Teach First as a way of procedures and processes are available should trying to encourage some of the brightest graduates people want to use them. into teaching. It is clear that a number of those graduates would not have considered teaching as a Q262 Mr Stuart: I don’t think that’s quite good career were it not for Teach First. We have to be enough. 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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles important thing to do is to split into two categories Q264 Chairman: Jon, this is a little specious in one the teachers who are doing a good job and those who sense, isn’t it? Everybody knows there was a are failing but who, as you rightly say, we think have situation in a London borough that was so bad in the capability to be brought up to standard. terms of the quality of education being delivered that However, there is a third category, which is people Mike Tomlinson was put in charge of a commission who cannot provide teaching of suYcient quality for to go in there and sort it. Part of that remit was to the hundreds of children whom it is our sort the poor quality of teaching and teachers in that responsibility to educate. The priority is to get such authority. Those of us in the education sector all teachers out of our school, not to get them out of know that that is true, so it is not just the extreme teaching, which is a far more diYcult and case that Graham has mentioned that will be challenging process. Teachers who are substandard disciplined by the GTC. It is a whole world that is V may be made to leave a school, but they are very di erent from that. It is not gross incompetence, it is unlikely to be made to leave the profession. That is people who you know, if you look at a school that is Y your responsibility and we could do with some in serious di culties, have lost their spark. Very concrete suggestions from you on what we are going often there is a percentage of teachers there who have to do about it. lost their spark. If they have lost their spark, surely Mr Coaker: The concrete suggestion is that the rules they shouldn’t still be teaching. Jon Coles: This is why processes exist to deal with and regulations are there for people. Nobody wants precisely that situation; that is what the performance to see people who are inadequate moved from one management system is there to do. It does, as Mr school to another, but on the other side, you can Stuart said, give governing bodies and head teachers have a situation where somebody in a particular type the ability to take people through a competence of school in a particular type of situation can be procedure. Having taken teachers through a moved into another situation in which they are competence procedure, if they are then not capable extremely successful. I am not trying to prejudge of improving, the governing bodies and head anything; I am saying that there are multiple teachers should have the ability to dismiss them from situations and contexts, and that people out there the school. The provisions are in place for somebody are the best judges. I am sorry if I didn’t answer the who is dismissed from a school on competence question to the extent that you wanted, but if grounds to be removed from the profession somebody, despite the support of all those things, is altogether. All of that process is in place. What needs unable to teach to the suYcient standard, there are to happen is that people need to use it. processes available for people to do something about it. Q265 Chairman: It is tragic, Minister. You have to get into a failing school situation in order to get some Q263 Mr Stuart: Thank you for that answer, of these things sorted out. For the children’s beneﬁt, Minister. The key question then is: do you consider we should have a system that predicts that, that the current system works? We have had reports understands it, and sorts the problem before the on just how few people are, at the end of all those school is a failing school and not delivering a good processes, basically invited to leave the profession. education for the kids. Mr Coaker: I agree with that. What Graham was Are you happy that the way the system currently talking about, to a certain extent, was individual works is doing it right by the children of this incompetence, but we are moving on to a more country? general thing about schools, which is obviously Mr Coaker: The system is there to be used, and the about quality. If you have got widespread appropriate thing for me to say is that where head incompetence, I agree absolutely that you need to teachers and governing bodies think it appropriate, intervene early and you should look at where the they should use the system. schools are failing, or at risk of failing, and get Jon Coles: There is, as you know, a procedure involved and intervene with them early to ensure through the General Teaching Council that enables that young people do not miss out—I agree with teachers who are seriously professionally that. Certainly, if a school then becomes a failing incompetent or have displayed misconduct to be school, or it becomes a school where clearly there is reported to the GTC and to be removed from no alternative, fairly robust action is taken by local teaching altogether. Of course in a devolved system authorities with the support of the Government or, where, for a very good reason, we have given most indeed, sometimes the Government intervene over of the power and authority to make decisions about the local authorities. staYng to individual head teachers and governing bodies, the operation of that system depends on those head teachers and governing bodies taking Q266 Chairman: Minister, have you got Teach First active steps to report professional misconduct or in the area you represent? Mr Coaker: No. incompetence to the appropriate authority. It is extremely hard then, is it not, to second-guess the decisions of individual heads and governing bodies Q267 Chairman: Nor have I. I haven’t got it in from the centre? If they choose not to report people, Huddersﬁeld, in Kirklees. 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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles have got them in mine. Why is it still so restricted, so at it.” There is something we need to have a look at. that we always have these new innovative I could reflect on that, go back and think about it, programmes for London? because there is an issue here that we could look at. Mr Coaker: It is outside. I cannot remember where That is not to say that it’s all falling apart. I don’t it is, but it is outside London. think it is. There was the new blood initiative that never got anywhere, so this is perhaps something we can think about and see whether, working with the Q268 Chairman: But it isn’t universal, is it? It is a good programme. Why has it not been rolled out to TDA, we can address it. schools in your constituency and mine? Chairman: There is nothing we like more than Mr Coaker: The point I made to Mr Stuart earlier reflective Ministers in this Committee. was that where these programmes are working we Mr Coaker: I think it’s pretty pointless, otherwise. need to learn from them and look at how we can We will agree sometimes and we will disagree, for replicate them across the country—not necessarily perfectly good reasons, at others. It is sometimes through Teach First; there are other programmes important to say, “That is not a bad point. I will where you can do that as well. think about that.” Chairman: As Chairman, I rarely raise my own Chairman: Perhaps we will pop back to our report on constituency problems here. the National Curriculum that your predecessor— Mr Coaker: You pushed mine as well, Chairman. Mr Coaker: I think you are pushing your luck Chairman: I did—I was even-handed. Fiona will lead there, Chair. on teacher trainers. Fiona Mactaggart: The Minister has answered my question rather well. We will leave it there. Chairman: We will move on to Paul on continuing Q269 Fiona Mactaggart: If we are going to have professional development. these better- trained teachers, the big issue we have to address is who is going to train them? I am struck by the fact that even 12 years ago when I was a Q270 Paul Holmes: Vernon, in your opening teacher trainer, the profession had become comments you said that continuing professional increasingly casualised. People were on temporary development was very important. What, therefore, contracts—I have referred in this Committee before do think of the fact that some schools spend 15% of to the fact that I was. It was an elderly, growing their budget on continuing professional ageing population of teacher trainers. Now, in a development and some spend only 0.25%? survey done in 2003–04, some 70% of academic staV Mr Coaker: The variability is an issue. It is in education departments are over the age of 46. important to make a statement that continuing What do you think this is due to? Is it the relatively professional development needs to take place. One low salaries of people in higher education compared would again hope that Ofsted would inspect the to schools now, or is it something else? What are you quality of professional development that goes on in going to do about it in order to secure quality a school. One proposal we have, as you know, is to training of teachers in the future? look at whether we link registration—the licence to Mr Coaker: This is an important point. If you are teach—to continuing professional development, so going to have high-quality teachers, you need high- that we have a more systematic way of ensuring that quality trainers of teachers, which is a statement of continuing professional development takes place. the blindingly obvious. I understand that there has This is all “thoughts”, “maybes” and “might bes” at been some smoothing out of the diVerence in the moment but it is a way of asking whether we need salaries, which should help HE recruit from schools. to be more systematic in the way we address this. The reason sometimes for people being older is the You are right that there are big variations. We have tendency of people to go into school to get delegated performance management to schools. experience and then come out to train others to do That is about working with individuals in school and the job. One would also hope that the Training and is about the needs of both the school and the Development Agency gives places to the training individual teachers. It is about marrying them providers, saying, “We want you to train X number together more eVectively. The licence to teach idea is of teachers.” One would suppose that, following one we need to explore. Ofsted inspection, the TDA would reflect on Ofsted’s reports on the quality of training at a particular institute. You rightly make points about Q271 Paul Holmes: Under active registration, would casualisation and about training providers being out you be looking at any—just free-standing— of touch, not up to date or too old. The Ofsted report development teachers did each year, or would it would reflect that and the TDA would reflect it by build up to some credit-based scheme where they got reducing the number of teaching places. It goes back qualifications? to Graham’s point about robustness in the Mr Coaker: I am not sure about that. Jon? inspection system causing action to take place—in Jon Coles: The first thing to say is that the masters this instance, with respect to the number of places in teaching and learning is based precisely on the given. One would hope that would shock a provider model of people building up credit over time to into responding to why its number of teaching places acquire a masters-level qualification. Obviously, the had been reduced. It is what I was saying at the aim is that that should be heavily practice based. It beginning. It is a pretty banal conversation if a new is not about people sitting in lecture theatres Minister does not at times say, “I should take a look listening to theory, or about writing theoretical— Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles

Chairman: John Bangs called it “death by and test it out, and look at what is the right wider PowerPoint”. range of provision that it is necessary to put around Jon Coles: Yes. It is not about death by PowerPoint that for teachers who are not on the MTL. either. John is always very articulate about this issue. V The professional development that is e ective is: Q273 Paul Holmes: What was the model for the teaching, being observed teaching and getting MTL? Where did you get the idea from? What other feedback; observing other people teaching and experience did you look at? getting feedback on that; having a chance to reflect Jon Coles: There is a whole lot of international on practice and put it into a theoretical framework evidence. I know that the Chairman does not like us to try some things out and go and teach again; and mentioning Finland. We certainly have not working together on lesson planning, monitoring, imported the— review and observation. Those are the things that are Chairman: I am becoming notorious for that. eVective, and they will be at the heart of the masters Jon Coles: We certainly have not narrowly imported in teaching and learning. That will be a firm the Finnish model. However, the founding point of qualification, which will build up over time through this is absolutely right, that it is the quality of your credit-based work. I guess that we see that as the teachers that is the most important determinant of potentially profoundly important reform of the quality of your system. If you look at some of the professional development, not just giving people a most successful systems, at the countries that are diVerent early experience of professional doing best in ongoing professional development— development but shifting the culture of professional places such as Singapore and some of the other far development in the school system, so that people eastern countries—there is an extremely well- start to think that they have an entitlement to structured process of ongoing professional professional development and a duty to develop development that leads in general to masters-level or themselves in those areas in which they are weaker, higher-level qualifications. We also have some good and that the performance management system experience in this country of practice-based masters, should help people to structure how they think some of which are quite new but appear to be about their development, both in those early years of eVective. Those are things that we can learn from. working towards an MTL and later on in their careers. Whether you take it as far as continuing a Q274 Paul Holmes: Some people have expressed broad framework of accreditation for people to go concern that the MTL is based so much on newly on beyond a masters-level qualification is something qualified teachers. I can just about remember being that I do not think we have come to a conclusion on the equivalent of an NQT, 30 years ago. For the first yet. Through the existing postgraduate professional couple of years there was no time to stop or think, let development work you have a set of accredited alone to be doing a masters qualification. Why have postgraduate professional development units. We you focused it on people at the start of their career? are not talking about taking all those away or Mr Coaker: Because of the research that we looked putting all the money into the MTL, and so there will at. Some of the research from McKinsey suggested always be that diverse range of provision, not only that was the best time, or one of the best times, to for people who are on the MTL but for the wider improve your practice. Clearly, it is not the only range of teachers. To some extent, in all of this what time, but that is why the initial focus was on that. I we do not want to do is take away the autonomy of take your point about NQTs, and that is why we the individual school’s leadership and management have delayed the introduction of it, so that we can to make the right decisions for the school and the put together systems that ensure that we have in teachers, and of the teachers’ line managers to make place the opportunity to do the Masters in Teaching the right decision for them in relation to their and Learning for NQTs in the north-west and in the personal development, some of which will not be National Challenge schools—to ensure that we have very susceptible to being accredited provision. in place a system that works. I think it is April of next year that we intend the Masters in Teaching and Learning to start, although the eligibility will be Q272 Paul Holmes: So you have 35,000 places in from September of this year. postgraduate professional development training, and 4,000 on the new masters in teaching and Q275 Paul Holmes: But I think the figures on the learning. Did you just say that you clearly see those PPD are that 15% are NQTs; 50% are in the first nine as two parallel developments? Are you looking at the years of teaching, which leaves 50% who have been masters eventually replacing the other training? doing it for nine years or more. Surely that would Jon Coles: That is certainly not something that we imply, from the teaching profession, that there is have decided to do at this point. To some extent, they much more demand for CPD that is recognised are developments that come together. We would further down into your career, rather than at the anticipate, and certainly at the moment for this start. spending review period it is clear, that both of these Mr Coaker: That is why we would not seek to developments will continue. The PPD structure will replace it. Clearly there are diVerent things that continue for teachers for whom that is right. The people can do and diVerent options available to MTL is starting oV; it is in a pilot phase in just a part people. It is not one size fits all, but, initially, we of the country and National Challenge schools. So, think this is the best place to start. Clearly, it is part the job here is to evaluate the MTL, get it working of an ongoing process and ongoing development, Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 210 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles but the fundamental point is that we simply have to determine the decisions of individual head teachers have a more systematic process of continuous within the maintained school system about professional development rather than some of the professional development, but it is harder still to variability that there is now. It is not incoherent, but determine the decisions made by private sector— there needs to be more coherence than there is at the very often—supply agencies. The use of the quality present time, and that is what we are seeking to do. mark has been an attempt to push supply agencies That will focus on NQTs initially, with respect to the towards professional development. You are Masters in Teaching and Learning, but we will have absolutely right, some agencies are much better at to have other things. People who have been teaching this than others. We are using the quality mark as a for 10 or 20 years have an entitlement to continuous way of— professional development as well, so we need to Mr Coaker: Pushing up standards. think what that means and what sort of processes and opportunities we make available to them as well. Q278 Paul Holmes: If, between you, the TDA and Jon Coles: It is worth saying that there is a pretty the GTC, you can say that you can only be a supply direct attempt to move the culture of professional teacher, you can only be a supply teaching agency, if development to a slightly diVerent place from where you do this, then it is a done deal, surely. it has been recently. Some of what is reflected in the Mr Coaker: That is the point of the Quality Mark, is statistics you quote reflects not just the choices of it not? The Quality Mark gives that seal of approval, individual teachers, but also the prioritisation made saying that this agency has taken some responsibility by the school and the school’s management. Some of for the CPD of the people that it has on its books. it reflects the fact that, as people progress in their careers, they suddenly feel a need for professional Q279 Chairman: Then why do you not have a quality development, which, perhaps, they have not mark for teachers—a licence to practice? That would identified earlier, so all those things are relevant and help too, wouldn’t it? important. Sometimes you have people who are Mr Coaker: The licence to practice—active returners to teaching who are taking professional registration—is something that we are considering. development as well. All those things are hugely Qualified teacher status gives people the immediate important. We think that there is scope to improve registration to teach; the licence to teach is the quality of the NQT year through the Masters in something that we are looking at. Other professions Teaching and Learning. We think that there is also have looked at people being able to refresh or scope to shift the culture of professional renew—all those sorts of things—their professional development by ingraining in people the habits of knowledge and skills. It is something that we need to continuous development from the beginning of their look at and, indeed, is something that we are career, and making that a richer part of the initial considering. As a corollary,Chairman—just to make training and induction of teachers. So there is a clear—one of the advantages that there may be for deliberate attempt to shift the culture of what going down that route, if we chose to do so, would happens in the system to focus that earlier. be that we would have to ensure that a proper entitlement to CPD ran alongside that. Q276 Paul Holmes: Finally,we started by saying that Chairman: Minister, we have one last section, a very CPD is very important, but the amount that schools important one, on which Annette will lead us. put into it can vary from 0.25% to 15% of their budget. What about supply teachers? One survey Q280 Annette Brooke: Do you consider that the showed that 66% of supply teachers had had no early years professional status is just a cheap option CPD at all in the previous 12 months. that undermines quality teaching in the most Mr Coaker: We give Quality Marks to supply important years of a child’s life? agencies, and one would hope, Jon—I have only Mr Coaker: No, I don’t think so. The early years been here a week—that part of the quality mark that professional status was put in place to give status to you give to supply agencies would be on the basis of that area of work, in particular with respect to the the quality of the professional development they private-voluntary sector, which has seen a big oVer to supply teachers. Supply teachers are an expansion over the past few years, as you know. So, important part of the teaching work force. They do the introduction of that status was something that an important job, and we should not ignore their we saw as particularly important for that nought to needs either. All I would say is that one would hope three—nought to five—age group, and it runs that schools, in choosing which agencies to use, may alongside the QTS standard. look to the Quality Mark that we give them. As I say, part of that should be the professional development Q281 Annette Brooke: Early years professionals are that is made available to supply teachers as well. paid considerably less than a qualified teacher, so it is obviously a cheaper way of reaching the target of Q277 Paul Holmes: But do the agencies actually getting a graduate in every setting. I think that most concern themselves with CPD, or do they just commentators make the point that a qualified assume that the teachers are doing that? teacher in the setting is an ideal. Jon Coles: To get a Quality Mark, as the Minister Mr Coaker: That is absolutely right, but part of the says, does require the meeting of some standards on problem is that many of the people with the early professional development. That is important. The years professional status work in the private- issue for us is that, obviously, it is diYcult for us to voluntary sector; they do not work in the state Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

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15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles sector, as such. Regulating pay and conditions there somebody with qualified teacher status, if that is is not something that is easy, if possible, to do. My really to work. I suppose that I am suggesting to you point is that it is an extremely important area of that we are a long way away from that at the work and an extremely important part of the moment. Minister, will you ensure that qualified processes that we have in this country for the teachers continue to have a distinct role in all early development of our children. Indeed, the years settings? introduction of the status was an attempt to give that Mr Coaker: Absolutely. In the maintained sector, it sense of importance to it. is a legal requirement to have that. It is clearly a legal requirement with respect to three years and above in maintained schools and nursery schools. That is Q282 Annette Brooke: I want to look at teacher training leading to qualified teacher status. Is there certainly something that we will have to do. To set up not an argument for primary teachers to have a Sure Start children’s centre, somebody with QTS knowledge of nought to five? It is important, now has to be in the setting. As I have said, we will do that we have the early years foundation stage, to be that. To emphasise the point, you are right to say clear that it is not three to five but nought to five. that this is an important area of work. It is hugely Equally,is it not important for the graduate covering important, and I think that all of us recognise that. nought to five to have knowledge of the follow-up in We need to ensure that the work force are supported primary schools? Could that not all be done much in gaining the skills that they need to do that. That better through the TDA? And should not early years was certainly the intention behind the introduction teachers have qualified teacher status—or aspire to of the graduate scheme for people teaching nought that, at least? to five. Mr Coaker: First, qualified teacher status is somebody looking at a foundation stage. One would Q284 Annette Brooke: I wish to look at some of the expect, even though they are doing three to seven other crossovers. The Chairman mentioned earlier and seven to 11, that one module would involve the that for 14 to 19 we have a slightly bizarre situation two key stages that they need to do. One would with further education and secondary schools. expect that at some point one of the modules would Again, it almost appears that less status is given to be about child development with respect to nought one qualification than another. Would you consider to three to give a sense of how somebody arrives at that a little further? You have mentioned that you the foundation stage. I think that there is something would perhaps look at the regulations around I could discuss with the TDA. There is something in whether somebody with a further education trying to look at how the two statuses work qualification should be able to move freely into a together—how they interrelate—because certainly school. the intention in introducing the new status was to Mr Coaker: What I said was that, as the situation ensure that the importance of the nought-to-three develops—as fluidity develops between systems— area of work in particular was given the status and there will always be a need to consider how we importance that it deserved. Certainly that was the respond. What I was saying with respect to 14 to 19 intention in introducing the status. is that with the increasing number of diplomas, Jon Coles: May I just add to that. Obviously, what is which is a really good thing, and the increasing underlying your questioning, very properly, is a movement between schools, further education concern that perhaps early years professional status colleges and other work-based types of learning, the people—people with that qualification—are in some way in which the system works will be challenged. way less well qualified or less competent to do their work than those with QTS. I have to say that I have You are right to say that at the moment people with not had anybody make representations to me that an FE qualification cannot teach in schools, unless that is the case, or suggest that in some way those they do so as unqualified teachers. Issues do arise as people with early years professional status have a result of some the changes and reforms that are lower levels of skill or ability than those with QTS to being made. We should reflect on how we deal with work with the youngest children. Obviously, you are that and on the best way forward. That requires absolutely right to look at this. The status is in its discussion and thought, and for all of us to work with our partners to consider how it can be done. early stages and is being evaluated, but my sense of V what is happening in practice is that people are Clearly, a di erent situation has arisen as a result of seeing it as a very valuable addition to the landscape. some of the good and welcome changes that are That was certainly the sense I got from the being made. Committee’s first evidence session. Q285 Annette Brooke: Do you consider that too Q283 Annette Brooke: The point that I was making many players deal with managing the teaching work is that if we accept that the early years are the most force? We have the Children’s Workforce crucial in terms of teaching and learning, we want Development Council, the TDA, Lifelong Learning staV with the highest qualifications. That does not UK and so on. undermine many people with lesser qualifications at Mr Coaker: From my limited experience, the all, but, as a general principle, if we want to raise the important thing is that those agencies and people esteem of the work force, there needs to be parity of work together. If they work together and co-operate pay. There must be recognition that there is no real with each other—I see no evidence that they are not diVerence between an early years professional and doing so—that helps to deliver the teaching Processed: 03-02-2010 18:41:24 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG5

Ev 212 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

15 June 2009 Mr Vernon Coaker MP and Jon Coles profession or work force that you want in their Jon Coles: What we are anticipating is that they will broadest sense. From what I have seen in the few be extremely demanding. In HE as a whole, we have days that I have been doing this job, the work that a large number of vocational or practice-based they are doing to grapple with those issues is a credit master’s degrees across a range of sectors, so this is to them. not a new concept. Q289 Chairman: They are usually driven by the universities sector, rather than by you, aren’t they? Q286 Chairman: That didn’t wash with Ofsted, did it? Ofsted got bigger and bigger and took everything People behind you are shaking their heads, so perhaps I am wrong. in. Why not a super-TDA? Jon Coles: There is a range across HE of totally Mr Coaker: As I have said, I think that partnership diVerent models, some of which are driven by is what we are currently looking at, Chairman. professional standards—for example, for engineers.

Q290 Chairman: Jon, you know the point I’m Q287 Annette Brooke: Finally, I asked the TDA this making. We don’t want it to be looked at like an question, but it thought that you would be able to Oxford or Cambridge MA, do we, which you get for give me the answer. £20, as have three children of mine. I had to work Mr Coaker: That was good of it. Was that because it hard for my master’s. didn’t know the answer? Jon Coles: I assure you that this will cost an awful lot Annette Brooke: No; it thought that the answer lies more than £20. It will be extremely rigorous and with you. What progress has been made with the demanding. Everybody will understand that people remit review of the TDA and related agencies and who have earned the MTL have a serious when will it report? qualification that is as demanding as any other Mr Coaker: As far as I am aware, that is a work in master’s out there. It will be real evidence of a very progress. high level of teaching skill. I am just nursing a resentment against Jon Coles: It is a work in progress. Chairman: three of my children who have got these cheap and Annette Brooke: I think that that is what the TDA easy ones. Minister? said. Mr Coaker: It is an extremely serious point to make. Mr Coaker: Well, I think that is the truth. Jon, you If the MTL is to mean anything, it has to have will have to advise me. I am not exactly sure. credibility and it has to actually mean what it says. Jon Coles: We are not anticipating a grand To start out by saying that it is an important restructuring of all the agencies as a result of the qualification—a master’s qualification that will be review. Over the next few weeks, the aim is to come available to teachers to reflect the high level of to some conclusions about whether there should be professionalism, experience, skills and expertise that any changes in remits. we expect of them, and we expect it of them to that Mr Coaker: If there are overlaps and so on, there is level—is a statement about what we want for our an issue about how you deal with that. From what I teaching profession in the future. To start out with have seen, the agencies are pretty good. We should that vision and that point gives us a sound footing try to build on the strengths that they have, which is on which to move forward. what we will do in the review. Chairman: Minister, that is a very good note on which to finish a very interesting session. We have learned a lot from it. We have very much valued your expertise and your professionalism, which we would Q288 Chairman: MTLs are surprising. Are you not expect as you are a consummate professional. May I watering down the Master’s? I am a governor of the say that we are having one short inquiry into London School of Economics and to do a one-year allegations against school staV? We care a lot about master’s degree there costs an awful lot of money. It that inquiry. We have some real concerns about seemed to be quite a prestigious master’s. Are you allegations against school staV, who are often not diluting the currency of a master’s by suspended for long periods of time. We will be taking introducing the MTL? The universities seem to be a evidence on that on Wednesday. I hope that you will very weak partner in the MTL business. watch that space. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [SO] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 213 Written evidence

Memorandum submitted by Professor Andy Goodwyn, Head of Education, University of Reading Summary Consultation with colleagues is clear that the document itself can only be a summary.

Key Points 1. There is a well established evidence base which informs both ITT, PPD and CPD, and an ongoing research tradition which is extending and refining that knowledge. However there is a clear need for more longitudinal research that might establish the eVective impact of diVerent models of ITT over considerable periods of time. There is also a need to develop more evidence about highly eVective models of teaching, for example critical examinations of Advanced Skills Teachers and the relatively new, “Excellent teacher”. Although the body of evidence accumulated by Ofsted was never made publically available, the revised models of Ofsted inspection will reduce observations of teaching and there is an argument for replacing this archive with another form of cumulative observation of good teaching. 2. Whatever the benefits of the combined accountability measures of TDA standards and Ofsted Inspections, one outcome has been to steadily and markedly reduce autonomy and innovation in ITT. As well as narrowing the experience of trainees this has made ITT a much less attractive career and the overloading of the training year has reduced the capacity of many University departments to develop the research skills of their junior staV. This depletion of research capacity does not sit well with the aspiration to make teaching a more evidence based profession or with the extreme pressure on major Universities to engage in RAE type research. Underlying all these issues is the clear concern that there is too much emphasis on “training” and not suYcient attention to “education and development”. 3. The introduction of Standards to ITT was overall a success and strengthened professional knowledge about the development of trainee teachers. Equally the extension of standards into the NQT year and the modest recognition of the need to provide NQTs with a slightly reduced timetable have been positive developments. The Early Career Development Profile is a useful bridge between ITT and NQT status, but might be usefully extended in scope. There is an argument to suggest that a two year model of ITT might be a more coherent approach to early development and that the traditional PGCE/GTP year is massively overloaded and that the concept of teacher development should be seen as much more of a continuum. Investment in teachers throughout the first five years of their careers might be hugely beneficial. The emphasis on “M” level work within the PGCE has been very eVective and various innovative schemes have developed to build on this work to provide full Masters opportunities. The introduction of the concept of an MTL has much potential but the current model being piloted is highly problematic and endangers the future of current well established and highly eVective Masters level provision. Such a fundamentally important development needs a very substantial period of piloting and revision before it is embedded in the profession. 4. ITT providers have evolved sophisticated and well evidenced criteria for selecting trainees with the appropriate characteristics to become good teachers. Providers expend huge eVorts on the selection and interview process and this is highly eVective in ensuring that the great majority of trainees enter the profession successfully; more recognition of this resource intensive process would be helpful. 5. Current entry requirements are generally sound although there can be too narrow an emphasis on a 2:1 level of achievement through traditional study.These figures are too often used in a League Table manner and can hamper providers from selecting candidates from less traditional and culturally diverse backgrounds. The value of the three ITT tests in Numeracy, Literacy and ICT and the time devoted to passing them is very questionable. It would be far more appropriate for providers to determine whether trainees need such tests. 6. The intense pressure of the ITT year does not allow some trainees to develop at a sensibly slower pace than others, this is especially true for less “traditional” students and trainees in shortage subject areas. Equally, there should be more recognition that the filtering out of some trainees is a necessary and positive outcome and not a failure on the part of a provider. The introduction in shortage areas of Subject Knowledge Enhancement programmes is a major step forward for increasing recruitment and for enabling more mature candidates to reach appropriate levels of subject knowledge before beginning and ITT course. 7. The TDA has become a much more responsive and collaborative agency in the last few years and this is a very welcome reorientation. 8. The constant changing of allocations, however reasonable at national level, has been highly problematic at institutional level. For example oVering a strong secondary PGCE programme covering all, or almost all, secondary subjects, provides an excellent training environment for trainees. If numbers in certain areas are drastically reduced this makes maintaining such provision highly problematic and may lead to permanent loss that cannot easily be reintroduced when allocations are increased. Such a loss of expertise can also reduce the opportunities for in-service teachers to undertake relevant CPD and Masters opportunities. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

Ev 214 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

9. The PGCE style route remains the most important and durable route into teaching and maintains the concept of teaching as a graduate style profession on a par with other professional careers. The GTP has begun to develop into a valuable alternative, with some parity to PGCE, but should remain a minority route. It is an area where more autonomy for providers might lead to more innovation and to attracting a more diverse population into teaching. More flexible and distance learning routes are valuable for filling gaps in provision and for a small minority of trainees but they are diYcult to quality assure. 10. Current measures are valuable but not adequate for long term change; at least some of these issues are culturally systemic and might only be rectified if a number of features made teaching more comparable in pay and conditions to professions such as Medicine and Law. More emphasis should be made on high status roles such as ASTs and Excellent teachers rather than over emphasizing Leadership [which can only ever be a tiny minority of teachers]. Much more research needs to be done into the ways and means that can be adopted first to attract and then to retain “minority” populations, this is acutely the case for men entering primary teaching. Providers should be given much more creative flexibility to try new approaches and the necessary experimental nature of such innovation should be supported and not restricted by compliance issues. The “Fast Track” experiment, in ITT, was an example of a reform that might well have had a significant long term impact but was not sustained. 11. Existing ITT provision is very eVective in preparing trainees for all four phases but the training year is overloaded to such an extent that trainees and schools expect too much competence on too many dimensions. The induction period into teaching should be conceptualized as a five year period in which trainees will develop real expertise; this is especially true in relation to understanding the special needs of students and to developing really eVective classroom competences especially in more challenging schools. Trainees can neither develop deep understandings of the special needs of students in one year, nor on the basis of 24 weeks of school experience of only two schools. That trainees could be fully trained in this respect is not only an unrealistic expectation, but a profoundly misleading one. Equally, the behavioural, and other social and pastoral, issues related to schools in challenging circumstances, cannot be “understood” through one ITT programme. This fact does not reflect negatively on the trainee, the ITT programme, or the school itself. The introduction of an early career MTL into the first five years of teaching might allow some reduction in the “front loading” of ITT and more opportunities for teachers to develop more resilient and robust understandings of generic teaching competences. 12. The current system is over-prescribed and dominated by notions of “compliance”, this is not an innovative culture. The very “high stakes” nature of inspection and the quantitative measurement of trainee “outcomes” make provision very conformist. Individual, and groups of providers, should be encouraged to pilot and develop new models of teacher training. When the curriculum in all phases has been substantially revised, when the 14–19 agenda is moving forward and when the “Every Child Matters” agenda is having impact, it would be an excellent time to empower providers to oVer trainees much more choice and diversity. The recent encouragement to give trainees experiences in setting other than traditional schools is an excellent example of how courses can “add value”. Opportunities for more international exchange would also be extremely beneficial to ITT trainees [and tutors]. The move for Ofsted inspection to become chiefly a self- evaluation exercise is welcomed and oVers an excellent opportunity for providers to be asked to demonstrate innovation and to evaluate its outcome. 13. Higher Education remains absolutely fundamental to the development of the teaching profession and to steadily improving the evidence base, through continuous research, of what makes for eVective teaching and learning. Tried and tested qualifications such as the PGCE add very considerable status and academic credibility to the teaching profession. The embedding of high quality ITT within an HE setting provides a very distinctive quality to trainees’ experience. HE involvement in ITT has remained one stable and enabling element in the education system within a context of continuous and often questionable “reforms” within, and to, the school system. 14. Overall the development of partnership, especially between substantial HEIs and groups of schools has become well established and has developed a shared culture of mutual understanding, in this sense it is sustainable. It would be beneficial if the responsibilities of partnership were more equally shared by schools, which are under no obligation to be in a Partnership. 15. There is unquestionably a demographic crisis facing providers of ITT as many senior colleagues retire and as the attractiveness of a career in ITT continues to diminish. It is vital here to view ITT as one element within an Education Department’s remit especially when considering the skills of an ITT workforce. A career in ITT is attractive because of the balance that individuals can achieve between ITT, Masters level work, PhD supervision and professional research. It is also significant to stress the national importance of attracting international students to HEIs. Any review of ITT must place it within this much broader context. This context includes the national and international significance of educational research. One element is the development of an evidence base for ITT itself, another is research about student’s learning which, when infused into ITT by knowledgeable tutors, directly impacts on the quality of trainees’ understanding. Fundamentally it is more important to see research skills as a necessary element for an ITT tutor working with the teaching profession at all stages, including Masters as a minimum for all teachers. It is axiomatic that ITT needs to attract highly talented people who can inspire and develop future generations of teachers. 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A career in ITT needs status and significance and it needs an induction period just as teaching does. The practice of consistently employing sessional staV with plenty of school experience [but little else] does not build any long term capacity and steadily erodes the knowledge base of Education as a discipline. There is an increasingly powerful case that ITT needs a more structured and resourced approach to the early career development of ITT tutors, especially as they are likely to have spent a number of years in schools to gain practical experience. It is also clear that school based colleagues involved with ITT trainees, need frequent opportunities to improve their skills and refresh their knowledge, this places a considerable resource burden on providers. 16. The TDA model of three year cycles of PPD provision has been problematic but has ensured the provision of a reasonable number of Masters level places for a modest number of teachers. Many HEIs have developed imaginative schemes to enhance the “M” level achievements of their former trainees and of those from other institutions; this is partly because there is more autonomy and flexibility at Masters level compared to ITT. 17. The provision of CPD remains entirely “patchy”. The current market forces model does not provide all teachers with much access to regular CPD opportunities. The five in-service days are typically as good as the quality of the school and its leadership, this inevitably varies enormously, and therefore an NQT [as do all teachers] needs access to more quality assured provision. The role of LAs is equally variable, with their size and resourcing equally so. The introduction of Standards for serving teachers suggests that they must individually account for their own CPD and this is a welcome emphasis putting teaching on more of a par with comparable professions. However it is not clear how individual teachers can access CPD on an equitable and properly resourced basis. There is also a problematic gap between single day, “one off” CPD events and the sustained commitment to a part-time Masters over several years. The introduction of an MTL [discussed below] will never replace the need for ongoing CPD. The simple example of the rapidly changing role of ICT highlights how continuously teachers must enhance their skills. There is a strong argument for a more developed and less market forces style model of CPD with a stronger role for LAs and for HEIs, appropriately tasked and incentivized to produce high quality learning opportunities for teachers. Equally teachers need to be incentivized and provided with a reasonable level of opportunity to undertake CPD during working time and not in twilight time. It is highly ironic that teachers, charged with being role models of learning, have so little opportunity within their work time to undertake learning themselves. It is vital that a balance is struck between the needs of the system and schools and the development of individual, extended professionals. Serving teachers who are expected to take responsibility for their CPD must be able to exercise their judgment not only on what is simplistically “needed” but what is also refreshing and challenging; sustaining enthusiasm and energy in teaching over many years requires stimulation and reinvigoration. 18. The current, TDA operated, system for tracking the impact and spending on PPD provision is a mechanistic and somewhat flawed model. The use of the term impact is part of the problem as it conceptualizes a simplistic cause/eVect outcome. The benefits of undertaking a Masters programme, over several years, include developing a great deal more knowledge and understanding and are better understood as enhancing capability and capacity for further learning. 19. CPD, as discussed above, could not currently be genuinely evaluated. The typical “tick list” model of evaluation at the end of a day’s course is more likely to focus on the quality of the lunch than the learning and its subsequent impact. Some variability in the perception of impact is normal and can be anticipated. Variability also allows for innovation and challenge rather than conformity and mere uniformity. The impact of CPD might be better judged by combining samples of teachers own perceptions, those of CPD providers and some sampling by trained evaluators, not inspectors ie professionals who might certainly evaluate and feedback to providers, but whose job is to identify the characteristics of good CPD for the benefit of the system generally. 20. The potential introduction of an MTL for all teachers may well be a hugely significant and valuable development with considerable impact on ITT. The current proposals are very unlikely to meet this expectation. As the proposed model is neither fixed nor clear but there are strong emergent characteristics then the following points must be stated: 20.1 Making teaching a Masters level profession is entirely welcome and would benefit ITT in the long run as teachers become more knowledgeable about their practice and more able to explain it to colleagues; 20.2 It can make teaching a more attractive career and raise the status of the profession; 20.3 In order to accomplish points 1 and 2, it must be genuinely comparable to existing Masters in all respects and to be validated by reputable Universities as are all current Masters; 20.4 It must be taught and assessed by suitably qualified tutors who have credibility and comparability with tutors on all Masters programmes; 20.5 It must be an entitlement with suYcient flexibility to acknowledge the autonomy of busy professionals; 20.6 It must be recognized that such a generic qualification will not replace more specialist masters, eg a module in Special Needs within and MTL is not the same as a Masters in Special Needs; Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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20.7 An MTL, especially if targeted at early career teachers, should enable them to undertake further CPD and PPD and therefore is not a “ﬁnishing school” model. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Citizenship Foundation Closing the Gap:Preparing Teachers and School Leaders for the Arrival of “New”Subjects Lessons from the introduction of Citizenship Education 1. Introduction 1.1 The Citizenship Foundation welcomes the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee’s inquiry into teacher training as an opportunity to (1) assess current levels of teacher training for Citizenship Education and (2) reﬂect on the lessons that can be drawn from this provision for future curriculum innovations. 1.2 Our submission to the Committee will argue that: — Citizenship requires a combination of dedicated and specialist classroom delivery and a variety of opportunities for young people to develop the skills and dispositions that enable them to be active and eVective citizens, within and beyond the school community; — Since Citizenship’s introduction into the National Curriculum in 2002, the necessary training for teachers and school leaders to ensure this type of learning experience for all young people has not materialised; — There are practical steps that can be taken immediately to address inadequate provision for Initial Teacher Training, Continuing Professional Development and the training of school leaders; — There are several lessons to be learned from the introduction of Citizenship to the National Curriculum, with regard to all aspects of teacher training, that ought to be applied in support of future curriculum innovations.

2. About the Citizenship Foundation 2.1 The Citizenship Foundation is an independent education and participation charity that aims to empower individuals to engage in the wider community through education about the law, democracy and society. We focus, in particular, on developing young people’s citizenship skills, knowledge and understanding. Our work includes citizenship resources for a wide audience from teachers to young oVenders, nationwide training programmes, national active learning projects for secondary schools and community-based projects to develop Citizenship Education as a collective responsibility beyond school and college boundaries. We are committed to three interdependent strategic objectives: supporting and informing the development of (1) Better Citizenship Education, (2) EVective Participation and (3) Stronger Communities.

3. What we mean by Citizenship,Citizenship Education and “Citizenship-Rich”Schools 3.1 It is important that we oVer our own working definition of citizenship. By citizenship we mean the eVective, informed engagement of individuals in their communities and in broader society around issues relating to the public domain. This is a definition of citizenship based around participation and “process”, rather than a narrower one that refers to an individual’s legal status in terms of, for instance, nationality. This engagement requires that young people are educated for citizenship and that they develop a range of knowledge, skills and dispositions. They need to know about politics, law, economics, the functioning of communities and social groups and their rights and responsibilities in terms of these communities and groups. And they need to feel confident in applying this knowledge, which requires a “toolkit” of citizenship skills: investigating, communicating, participating, negotiating, taking responsible action. Critically, eVective, rather than merely “active”, citizenship is both underpinned by, and develops, the individual’s political literacy. 3.2 EVective citizenship flows from good Citizenship Education. Necessarily, some of this is delivered in settings that are “outside” the classroom and some of this involves drawing new partners—youth workers, representatives of community groups and public bodies, local politicians—into the school’s community, prompting innovative work within the classroom. For this reason, we talk of Citizenship as both a new subject and a new type of subject and we argue for a “subject-plus” mode of delivery: dedicated, timetabled teaching time and a range of whole school and community involvement activities that allow young people to experience Citizenship and to develop the skills and dispositions cited above. As the respected educational academic Professor Denis Lawton at the University of London Institute of Education has put it, “…Citizenship Education is important for its intrinsic value, as well as its potential to exert a benevolent influence on the culture of schools and schooling. It is important in terms of curriculum, pedagogy and the organisation and structure of schools” (Breslin and Dufour, 2006). Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3.3 We refer to those schools that combine the delivery of a clearly identiﬁable and rigorous curriculum in Citizenship with multiple and varied opportunities for both student participation and community involvement as “citizenship-rich”, a term and deﬁnition now adopted by the National Foundation for Educational Research in their Longitudinal Study into Citizenship Education (NFER, 2007; Breslin and Dufour, 2006).

4. Citizenship as a Foundation Subject of the National Curriculum 4.1 Citizenship was introduced as a statutory Foundation Subject of the National Curriculum in August 2002 and revised, along with the wider curriculum, in August 2008. Previously, during the 1990s, it had had the status of a “Cross-curricular Theme”, a status that we suggested condemned Citizenship (and the other Cross-curricular Themes) to being “everywhere but nowhere” (Citizenship Foundation, 2006). 4.2 The introduction of Citizenship Education into secondary schools is unparalleled since the 19th Century in terms of subject innovation, with the possible exception of ICT (which is, in any case, of a diVerent nature). Indeed, Professor Lawton has described the introduction of Citizenship to the secondary curriculum as “the most important educational innovation in the last ﬁfty years” (Breslin and Dufour, 2006). 4.3 However, Citizenship has not had the level of Department for Children, Schools and Families support that might reasonably be expected for the launch of a new subject. Indeed, over the past three years—since our submission to the Education and Skills Select Committee in 2006—the size of the DCSF support team has been progressively scaled back. Only one civil servant is now dedicated full-time to the support of Citizenship Education. 4.4 This lack of support from the DCSF centrally has translated into a similar lack of support at Local Authority level, amongst school leaders and, according to common anecdote, many inspection teams. 4.5 As data from the National Foundation for Educational Research’s ongoing longitudinal study demonstrates, Citizenship is taught very well in some schools and not at all in others. This is an entitlement for all students and should not be left to chance in this way—especially when a range of economic, social and political participation indicators would suggest that the need for high quality Citizenship Education about young people’s rights and responsibilities has never been greater. 4.6 It follows from the above that, as a subject, Citizenship requires a combination of dedicated and specialist classroom delivery so that young people may develop a grasp of the complex and conceptual knowledge base that underpins Citizenship Education. This draws on a range of disciplines, including the Law, Politics, Sociology, Economics and ethics (the ability to think about the morality of public actions and institutions). Citizenship should also provide a variety of opportunities for young people to develop the skills and dispositions that enable them to “do” citizenship—to be active and eVective citizens, within and beyond the school community. This requires committed, highly skilled teaching, strong, visionary school leadership, good quality Local Authority support and astute, informed inspection. 4.7 Since 2006, the Citizenship Foundation has argued that a National Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Citizenship1 should be in place to support the eVective introduction of this new subject and that every school should have at least one dedicated and specialist trained Citizenship teacher by 2010. This modest aspiration—imagine that we had called for one dedicated Mathematics or English teacher per school—will not now be met.

5. Initial Teacher Training (ITT) for Citizenship 5.1 Initial Teacher Training for Citizenship is currently inadequate, given that this is a new subject and there is a huge deﬁcit of specialist teachers amongst the workforce (see below). 5.2 In England and Wales there is no strong tradition around the teaching of the Social Sciences and no strong history of a social curriculum. In addition, the early incarnations of the National Curriculum marginalised these areas to a set of non-statutory and largely-ignored cross-curricular themes. As such, there is a real “gap” in teacher and school leadership expertise in this ﬁeld. 5.3 There is no shortage of potential trainees for Citizenship. The 250 places per annum available for citizenship are heavily over-subscribed (the Institute of Education, London, regularly receives 8 times the applications it can accept). However, even from amongst the 250 beginning trainees per annum, 10% drop out completely and the majority teach only a few citizenship lessons per week because of the way Citizenship is delivered in the majority of schools.2 5.4 The number of ITT places currently available for Citizenship is a little higher, but not much more so, than the allocation of places for similar, but already existing, curriculum subjects. We believe this to be mistaken because it fails to recognise the urgent need for Citizenship Education to become established in all

1 We originally made the call in our evidence to the then Education and Skills Select Committee’s investigation into Citizenship Education (2006). 2 Source: Professor James Arthur, director of Citized, a citizenship teacher training project supported by the Training and Development Agency (TDA). The majority (two-thirds) of schools still deliver citizenship as part of a wider PSHCE programme (NFER, 2007), which in the majority of schools is delivered by form tutors. This means that very few students in schools reliant on this delivery method are taught by the teachers with relevant expertise. Ofsted (2007) has identiﬁed this delivery method as the one where weak standards of citizenship teaching are most likely to be found. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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schools as a credible subject, taught by appropriately qualiﬁed teachers. The NFER study is unequivocally clear: Citizenship is taught best when it is taught by qualiﬁed specialists in designated curriculum time. Where Citizenship is not taught well or at all, young people are being denied an entitlement to learn about and understand their rights and responsibilities and the key values that underpin our society.

6. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for Citizenship 6.1 One way to address teacher shortages in Citizenship Education is to oVer Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to existing teachers, so that they can cross over into Citizenship and oVer teaching to a level commensurate with their first subjects. We regret that DCSF policy on CPD since 2000 has been marked by an absence of long-term planning and has been “ad hoc” and uncoordinated. For example, in 2003 it was decided to put in place a regionally based CPD programme, staVed by nine regional trainers coordinated centrally. Late in the day, the funding was cut to allow for four trainers (three based in the regions and one centrally). Their work was well received but they were hugely over-stretched. The team gathered evidence of a massive lack of knowledge amongst teachers and local authority advisers with responsibility for Citizenship and submitted the report at the end of year one.3 Funding was extended into a second year, but at a reduced, not increased, level. Three trainers (plus the national coordinator) were each given a two- fifths post that year. The following year funding ceased completely.One year after that (beginning September 2006) the DCSF (then DfES) announced a CPD Certificated course which is now in its third year. 6.2 Many would argue that this latest CPD initiative is under-funded, poorly supported centrally by advertising, lacking incentives and study support help for teachers. When the management of the third (current) year of the programme was put out to tender early in 2008 a range of credible candidates, including the Citizenship Foundation, declined to participate in the exercise because the proposed funding and time allocation was judged to be woefully inadequate. 6.3 The result of the lack of funding and promotion for CPD is that far fewer than the original target number (600 teachers per annum4) are being trained each year.

7. The Preparation of School Leaders 7.1 In 2004, the Citizenship CPD team found that the attitudes to Citizenship of many, if not most, heads and senior management teams proved a major obstacle to achieving good quality teaching and learning in Citizenship (Rowe, 2004). Four years on we believe that this situation has not improved. New ways need to be found of raising heads’ awareness that they are failing students in this respect and are not meeting National Curriculum requirements. Although the concept of the “super-head” can be over emphasised in public discourse, the role of school leaders in delivering quantifiable school improvement and in driving through key agendas is well documented and beyond question. 7.2 The current policy emphases on Every Child Matters, community cohesion, democratic engagement, youth participation, learner voice, volunteering, taking greater responsibility in public life, the equality agenda, youth crime and the “Respect” agenda are all elements of a policy orientation that is now finding expression at school level through, for example, Statutory Duties and Well-being Indicators to which Citizenship Education is able to make a very important, and unifying, contribution. However, school leaders are often inclined to see these issues as distinct, each a separate burden to address in a crowded field and a busy day. School leaders currently receive no formal training in the nature, role and potential impact of Citizenship Education or of its importance to young people and its contribution to whole school and community life. 7.3 Given that, since August 2008, “responsible citizenship” has (rightly) been a key aim of the wider National Curriculum (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, 2007), it is all the more galling that the nature and potential of Citizenship as both a curriculum subject and a strategy for school transformation is not explored in the preparation and development of middle and senior school leaders.

8. Practical Steps for the Improvement of Initial and Continuing Teacher Education in Citizenship 8.1 Although we have long contended that the inclusion of Citizenship in the statutory curriculum stands on its own merits, policy agendas from across the political spectrum concerned with participation, cohesion, engagement and inclusion place an even greater burden on all involved in the delivery of Citizenship Education. We believe this makes the need for a National Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Citizenship Education vital and immediate, and its absence inexplicable. As argued above, Initial and Continuing Teacher Education—allied to strong leadership development and good quality local authority based support—is the single most important ingredient in such a strategy.

3 The unpublished report, entitled Report on Work of the Citizenship CPD team, by Don Rowe was submitted to the DfES in September 2004. The CPD team began work on 1 October 2003 and completed its first year on 31 September. There were three full time appointments—one in the North West, one in the West Midlands and one further post split between two regional advisers (RAs) in the London and South East region. Don Rowe, of the Citizenship Foundation, acted as central coordinator. The team now has 1.1 full time appointments. 4 Target outlined in a DCSF “Certificate for the Teaching of Citizenship” document, accessed on 26 January 2008 at http:// www.teachernet.gov.uk/pshe/attachments/bin/ Certificate%20for%20the%20Teaching%20of%20Citizenship%20Advert%20June%2006.doc Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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8.2 The curriculum is a statement of the values, skills and knowledge that we as a society believe are suYciently important to share with emergent generations. In a democracy, it is vital that young people learn about how society’s political, legal and economic infrastructure functions and that they do so in high quality, experiential study programmes delivered by appropriately qualified teachers. In too many cases this is simply not happening. Indeed, two years ago, the National Foundation for Educational Research found that only 55% of those charged with the responsibility of delivering Citizenship Education were appropriately qualified to do so (NFER, 2007). We need to close this knowledge and skills gap in the teaching workforce, urgently and as a matter of priority. 8.3 Our point is that the introduction of a new subject such as Citizenship must be supported by a suYcient investment in both initial teacher training and continuing professional development to which teachers in all schools have access. To fail to do so is to, at best, send mixed messages about the importance and status of the subject to school leaders, local authority advisers, teachers themselves and, of course, students and parents. 8.4 As argued elsewhere in this submission, we believe that Citizenship Education, which was initially regarded by some teachers and school leaders as an initiative that would be quickly and quietly forgotten about, is in danger of becoming just that, left far too much to the discretion of individual school leaders in terms of whether (and how) it is taught or not and whether it is overtaken in teachers’ minds by what they see as the next initiative (NFER, 2007). 8.5 Specific action needs to be taken with regard to the current situation in Citizenship Education, not least so that the excellent practice now emerging in perhaps 30 per cent of schools—schools that we define as “Citizenship-rich”—becomes the norm for all learners. To reiterate, a National Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Citizenship Education, centred around improving teacher expertise and confidence, should be put in place with appropriate targets for closing the gap in the supply of appropriate teaching specialists described in this submission. 8.6 As a part of a National Strategy for Teaching and Learning in Citizenship Education, the Citizenship Foundation recommends that the following steps be taken immediately to address the issues relating to Citizenship Education outlined in this submission: — DCSF should establish, as a matter of urgency,a date by which one dedicated and specialist trained Citizenship teacher will be in every school (we would suggest September 2012, 10 years after Citizenship’s introduction as a statutory subject); — Access to Initial Teacher Training places needs to be increased suYciently so as to meet this target; — Practising teachers, wherever they might be teaching, need to have access to a re-launched, re- energised and better funded accredited National CPD programme in Citizenship Education which should be made available in a range of formats (on-line, Local Authority based, university school of education based); — The revised accredited programme should be designed to fit into a framework that can also deliver CPD in related areas, such as PSHEE and school leadership; — We would like to see an urgent revision of National College for School Leadership (NCSL) programmes. In particular, we suggest the development of dedicated and statutory modules in the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) programmes for new heads and future school leaders and in the “Leading from the Middle” courses for middle managers.

9. Lessons and Recommendations, with Regard to Teacher Education, for Future Curriculum Innovators 9.1 We live in a fast-changing world; our schools and the curricula that they oVer will need to change to meet the needs of their students in this world. We believe that there are important lessons from the introduction of Citizenship to the National Curriculum in 2002 that might inform future curriculum innovations, none more so in the ﬁeld of Initial and Continuing Teacher Education. These lessons are all the more important because they are likely to apply to new types of school subjects, those that—like Citizenship, PSHEE and Enterprise—draw on a range of disciplines and have a life in the classroom and on the timetable as well as in the wider life of the school and the communities that it serves. 9.2 As it currently stands, the teacher training infrastructure is not suYciently equipped to deal with changes to the curriculum, especially when these changes reach beyond (or require the integration of) traditional and long-established school subjects. Initial Teacher Training, in particular, is rooted in these long-standing single academic disciplines and deals with newer (often inter-disciplinary) subjects and other non-subject based aspects of schooling (such as vocational and pastoral programmes) in the margins. 9.3 Against this background, we believe that the inadequate provision of Initial and Continuing Teacher Education in regards to Citizenship Education points to systemic problems that are highlighted at times of curriculum innovation. We recommend that these problems be addressed in the following ways: — On introducing any new curricular entitlement policy, planners should audit the existing teaching workforce to assess whether it has the knowledge and skill to implement the proposed provision. The scale of any skills gap should be clearly measured and acknowledged; Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— Where necessary,concrete plans should be put in place before the introduction of the new provision with regard to (1) the supply of Initial Teacher Training places and (2) existing teachers’ Continuing Professional Development; — CPD programmes should be nationally accredited and made available in forms that are accessible to all teachers and school leaders in all schools—this means strong Local Authority support, the proper use of university schools of education and online distance learning based provision; — Proper emphasis, articulated through a suYciently funded National Strategy, should be placed on the importance of the new provision and steps should be taken to ensure that this feeds through to the wider teaching and school workforce training (and accreditation) of school leaders, Local Authority advisers and inspectors.

10. References Breslin, T. and Dufour, B. (eds.) (2006) Developing Citizens: a comprehensive introduction to eVective citizenship education in the secondary school. London, Hodder Murray. Citizenship Foundation (2006) Citizenship Education: current state of play and recommendations (Submission to the Education and Skills Select Committee). London, Citizenship Foundation. (Published online at http://www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk/lib res pdf/0409.pdf). NFER (2007) Vision versus pragmatism: citizenship in the secondary school curriculum in England: Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study: Fifth Annual Report. Slough, National Foundation for Educational Research. Ofsted (2006) Towards Consensus: Citizenship in Secondary Schools. London, OYce for Standards in Education. Qualiﬁcations and Curriculum Authority (2007) The National Curriculum, Citizenship. London, QCA (Published online at: http://curriculum.qca.org.uk/uploads/QCA-07-3329-pCitizenship3 tcm8-396.pdf? return%/key-stages-3-and-4/subjects/citizenship/keystage3/index.aspx%3Freturn%3D/key-stages-3-and-4/ subjects/citizenship/index.aspx). Rowe, Don (2004) Report on the Work of the Citizenship CPD Team: 2003–2004. London, DfES (unpublished). January 2009

Letter to the Chairman from Dr Neil Simco, Dean of Education Faculty and Dean for Research, University of Cumbria Thank you for inviting us to the Parliamentary research seminar Better Training: Better teachers? As the largest Initial Teacher Education provider in the UK (and therefore probably Europe) and as host of the ITE area of ESCalate, the HE Education Subject Centre we feel it is important that our voice is heard in your enquiry. I think you mentioned yourself that the seminar could have been better structured so as to enable more people to speak and debate. As it was there was very little opportunity for us to respond to some of the points that were made. This is why we are taking you up on your kind invitation to give you further feedback. There are a number of points we wish to make in direct response to the inputs on the day and also some more general arguments we would like to put to the committee.

The Relevance and Effectiveness of Undergraduate Routes into Teaching We were rather surprised at some of the sweeping and unsubstantiated views promoted in relation to the value of undergraduate ITE programmes. Since then there has been more press coverage about this matter and we feel more than ever that we need to put our views on record. We have a number of points we wish to raise in response. While we recognize that PGCE routes are a valid and eVective way to become a teacher (we successfully train a large number of primary and secondary teachers on this route ourselves) we feel it important that you are aware of some of the advantages that undergraduate routes oVer that cannot be delivered through PGCE: — All our undergraduate QTS degrees are a highly integrated combination of subject, pedagogical and professional knowledge and skills and involve a close and constant iteration with learning in a broad and deep range of school-based learning experiences. It is highly misleading to assume that a pure degree followed by a 9 month PGCE oVers similar experiences and opportunities to develop so much directly relevant professional understanding. — Undergraduate routes oVer a greater amount and variety of placement experience and a greater range of diVerent types of schools. — On undergraduate routes student teachers have time to reﬂect, develop and create deep and mature professional identities that have been tested and shaped through a diverse range of experiences. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— For primary and early years student teachers on undergraduate programmes there is time for the full primary curriculum to be covered in depth. This is simply not possible on a PGCE. The current Rose Review of the primary curriculum (with which we ourselves are closely involved) is leading to a world class curriculum where such depth and breadth of knowledge will be essential. — Undergraduate routes develop graduate skills alongside professional knowledge. This provides a unique opportunity to develop in student teachers models of professionalism, independence and transferability that are explicitly and deeply linked to these attributes as they apply to teachers, pupils and schools. — Some of best NQTs have come through widening access undergraduate routes (often via a Foundation Degree) that their non-standard qualiﬁcations would present obstacles for entry onto other routes. These students are typically mature entrants who have a wealth of experience to draw on and have made a tremendous commitment to choose teaching as a vocation at this point in their lives. Our qualitative and quantitative professional and academic outcome data shows these students represent extremely high added value and go on to be outstanding teachers when they enter the profession. The PGCE route is not an option for these students. It is important to stress that we are not arguing that PGCE does not have an important place in the training of teachers. While we have made some statements about what cannot be covered in depth through this route, our experience also suggests that PGCE students with appropriate commitment, skills and experience can develop a long way in a short time. The key point is that if the profession is to be comprised ofasuYciently skilled, broad and rich workforce we need a range of routes. At the University of Cumbria we are very pleased to support all of these, including employment based routes and a SCITT. The outcome data we gather from these enables us to compare and contrast the diVerent types of value added by diVerent routes and we ﬁrmly believe that they all have their role to play. There is also a very practical point that we consider important in developing national strategy for the recruitment and training of teachers. This is about volume—the sheer level of supply that is needed. As the largest ITE provider we are well placed to comment on this. We are very doubtful that initiatives such as “Teach First” and even standard PGCE routes could supply the volume of (particularly primary and early years) teachers needed on an annual basis.

The Quality of Initial Teacher Education and its Relationship to RAE Rating John Furlong suggested that the bottom 10 ITE providers were all also poorly scored in the RAE (and conversely top ITE providers were highly rated) and used this to speculate that there might be a relationship between research rating and ITE quality. As we were included in the bottom 10 providers for quality on one of John’s slides you will understand we have institutional as well as a principled reasons for challenging these suggestions. For many years now we have consistently been awarded the highest Ofsted grades (and for primary are a category A provider). Benchmarking data, value added student outcome data and employment statistics for our student teachers all conﬁrm Ofsted’s view that we are a highly successful and eVective ITE provider that is at the leading edge of developments and innovations in ITE. We were therefore deeply concerned that we were presented as a low performing provider and the suggestion that this might be linked to our relatively low RAE rating. While we are happy to agree that all good education is deeply related to a reliable and valid evidence base and that research therefore has a vital role in eVective ITE, we are very unhappy with the assumption that a relatively low RAE rating is a valid indicator of the value that an ITE provider places on research and scholarship. We would strongly dispute the link that John was making between the quality of ITE and the RAE rating awarded. We have developed a model of scholarship and research that focuses on practitioner enquiry both within the classroom but also, equally importantly for an institution such as ours and the kind of workforce we seek to develop, that develops expertise in meeting diverse needs and developing breadth, depth and richness in the profession. There are many examples we can draw on that demonstrate the value of this kind of expertise to national agendas. Currently we are deeply involved with Sir Jim Rose and the QCA in developing the new primary curriculum—a curriculum that is explicitly trying to develop a model of an inclusive, diverse and personalized education that needs the kind of workforce we produce to be eVectively delivered. It is also important to state that league tables of teacher education providers are not value neutral and are over almost always overly simplistic We could provide an alternative leagues table based on a wide range of variables that would put the same provider at the top, bottom and middle, depending on how they were manipulated.

Models of Partnership A number of speakers made points to the eVect that ITE is only as good as the partnership schools it uses. While we are happy to support this view in a general sense we feel it is important to elaborate much more on the deep and sophisticated relationships needed between universities and schools to ensure that this quality is constantly being developed. There is a danger that John’s presentation articulates a very narrow view of teacher education where there is a very real risk of disconnection between ITE and the hugely diverse needs of schools. We believe that only providers who are as large and diverse as ourselves can develop the kinds of mature, broad and mutually beneﬁcial partnerships with schools and settings that are needed to develop Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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and support the kind of teaching profession we believe is needed to meet the needs of the nation and future generations. Our partnership involves a model that is very much more than placing students in contexts where they can “practise”. We have deep co-development projects with our schools and settings where we work together in an enquiry and evidence based approach to develop ITE and CPD at all levels. We know, too, that our students particularly value the broad perspective that the university brings to their work. The professional dialogue that develops between school tutor, university tutor, and student is at the core of the successful professional development of student teachers. University tutors have deep experience of very many schools and are able to draw upon this to support not only the student teacher but the school too. The partnership model has the capacity to be profoundly influential in raising standards for everyone involved. We do hope you find these points useful and illuminating. We would welcome an opportunity to elaborate further on these views. Dr Neil Simco Dean of Education Faculty and Dean for Research Dr Samantha Twiselton Head of Early Years and Primary Initial Professional Mark Whitfield Head of Educational Partnership and Enterprise Dr Jill Clough Secondary and Post Compulsory Initial Professional Studies March 2009

Memorandum submitted by Dr A Gardiner, University of Birmingham Executive Summary — The submission is restricted to mathematics. The inadequate training of mathematics teachers deserves attention in its own right. It may also highlight broader failings within the system. — The main weakness of mathematics teaching in England is to be found not in primary schools, but at secondary level—especially in Years 7–11. — Mathematics teaching is hard. The best teachers learn their craft the hard way over many years— by working to master their subject, by struggling to understand their pupils’ diYculties, by reflecting critically on the eVect of their teaching, and by developing approaches which prove to be eVective. Thanks to the bureaucratic desire to certify teachers as “qualified” immediately after Initial Teacher Training, most teachers never begin this extended process: their ITT courses are rushed, and most of what is covered has no soil in which to take root—so is washed away in the deluge of their first years in teaching. So instead of mastering a serious and important craft, most adopt various substitute “strategies for survival”. — Initial Teacher Training needs to be re-conceived. Existing ITT need not change dramatically, and might still serve to prepare potential teachers: but such ITT short-courses should constitute only the initial part of a more extended programme, with “qualified status” being earned after 3–5 years, on completion of components designed to strengthen subject knowledge (to a basic level) and to develop didactical reflection. — This would steadily improve the overall quality of mathematics teaching. But there is also a critical shortage of high quality mathematics teachers, and hence an urgent need to encourage schemes that might nurture the creation of a critical mass of such “potential subject leaders”. (The National Mathematics Teachers’ Summer School is an example of precisely such a scheme. It costs peanuts, has been successful beyond its organisers’ wildest dreams, but cannot find a home under any of the current agencies, and may well not survive.)

1. Background 1.1 Despite being oYcially a research mathematician, much of my time for the last 40 years has been spent working with and for teachers and pupils at school level—both nationally and internationally. I started (and for 10 years ran) the UK Mathematical Challenges, which now involve 650,000 pupils each year. I was President of the Mathematical Association 1997–08 and was Chair of the Education Committee of the European Mathematical Society (2000–04). But my comments are rooted Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— in working closely with teachers and pupils over many years (I am currently travelling, working with teachers and pupils in Singapore, in Australia, in Hong Kong, and in Thailand, and apologise that I only have primitive access to e-mail), — in producing material for schools (15 books currently in print), — in curriculum development projects, and — in engaging with the educational process on a wider front. 1.2 My comments are restricted to mathematics teaching. Mathematics is one of the two most important subjects taught in schools, and is recognised as being a key indicator of the eVectiveness of any national school system—so negative features which become clear for mathematics teaching are not only important in their own right, but may be indicative of wider failings. 1.3 It is customary to claim that the main problem in teaching mathematics has its roots in primary schools. There is certainly considerable scope for improvement in primary schools; however, the teaching in our secondary schools should give us much greater pause for thought—as the recent Ofsted report Mathematics: understanding the score (2008) shows! Primary mathematics presents its own problems, but it is relatively simple: the basic ideas (of number and measures) connect naturally with everyday experience, and they recur throughout the primary years—giving them time to take root. Such material is taught the world over (often very eVectively) by suitably trained generalists. In contrast, secondary mathematics quickly becomes more abstract (fractions, negative numbers, algebra, ratio, functions, trigonometry), with new ideas depending on appropriate mastery of previous material in ways that new teachers do not realise—and many never fully appreciate (as is made plain in Mathematics: understanding the score). Given that many teachers have such a ﬂimsy grasp of their subject, the pressures for schools “to perform” leave such teachers with only one cheap option: rather than working to ensure that new material is properly understood, they use the shortcut of giving “rules”, in the hope that this will deliver short-term success on oYcial tests—even if it almost guarantees failure in the longer term. 1.4 In short, the evidence is clear (and is usefully encapsulated, in an remarkably frank way in the aforementioned Ofsted report): the most serious failings of mathematics teaching in England—and hence of pre-service and in-service training—occur at secondary level. Fortunately this makes them easier to address: there is no obvious reason why we could not design and implement a permanent system of in-service support that markedly strengthens a signiﬁcant fraction of the 50,000 or so secondary mathematics teachers within any 10 year cycle.

2. Details 2.1 There are serious weaknesses in the present training regime for mathematics teachers. The greatest weakness is perhaps the belief that teachers can be adequately prepared by a short initial training programme, after which they are more-or-less abandoned. This makes it almost impossible for NQTs to develop any embryonic insights into the subtleties of mathematics teaching which they may have gleaned during ITT; instead they are overwhelmed by the deluge of reporting, classifying pupils’ “levels”, league tables, teacher absences, overwork, etc, with no time for reflection—and no notion that such reflection is part of their professional remit. One serious issue is therefore how to use the first few years in teaching more eVectively. Another is how to encourage professional development in the longer term. (This latter question might, in principle, be addressed by the new MTL structure—though current indications are not encouraging.) The 1999 ITT National Curriculum in Mathematics (which constituted a relatively modest requirement) was drafted under the clear understanding that it could not be completed and audited by the end of a one year PGCE or three year B.Ed. course, but that the given framework should be viewed as material to be mastered and audited by the end of a 3–5 year initiation programme. This understanding was over-ridden (by the TDA or DfES?) and the resulting scheme was imposed without the intended caveat. It duly failed, and was withdrawn in short order! Hence there are broad issues which warrant serious attention. But they deserve attention from more experienced commentators than me. 2.2 My comments here focus on a much more serious failing: namely our consistent failure to recognise the need to cultivate an elite—a critical mass of unusually competent mathematics teachers, — who might be spread throughout the system (by using suitable incentives), — who might give a lead in writing texts and developing materials, in examining, in advising LAs and central agencies, and — who might provide incidental professional development in hundreds of undocumented ways. 2.2.1 Any large organisation needs to do more (much more!) than merely “fill vacancies”. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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A business needs shop-floor workers: these may not arrive ready-made, but can often be trained on the job. However, the long-term success of the organisation requires that considerable attention be paid to nurturing middle managers, and to recruiting and developing competent technicians and executives. An army needs squaddies—who may be recruited, trained and rewarded in an appropriate fashion; but its overall quality depends on the quality and ethos of its oYcers and NCOs. 2.2.2 Yet England makes no eVective provision for recruiting and developing quality mathematics teachers. (You will no doubt be told otherwise; but I encourage you to ask for evidence of proven schemes, rather than promises that relatively new schemes can be trusted to fill this role.) 2.2.3 Mathematics teaching is hard, and the qualities required to teach well are rare—at present especially in England. Yet successive administrations have preferred to conceal the true situation, rather than acknowledge it. In preparing his report Making mathematics count (2004) Adrian Smith discovered that DFES had given up collecting data on “mathematics teachers’ qualifications”. Partly as a result of his complaints, the DFES commissioned two surveys which were published recently (NFER 2008). Sadly their “findings” blatantly contradict the experience of everyone “at the chalkface”, and attempts to find out how the authors arrived at their figures have failed to clarify where the error lies. (One report claims that 42% of secondary mathematics teachers “have mathematics degrees”; the other claims 47%. The true figure is closer to 30%, and in 11–16 schools is very much lower.) So these reports should be treated with caution. 2.2.4 Any successful school system requires a critical mass of unusually competent teachers — who understand the subject they profess to teach; — who appreciate how the hierarchical character of elementary mathematics not only constrains the order in which topics are introduced, but also determines the form in which each topic must ultimately be mastered (in order to make possible subsequent material for which that topic needs to be mastered in a specific form); — who are sensitive to the diYculties with which pupils are confronted; — who develop, and continually refine, ways of introducing, mediating, and linking together the abstract ideas of elementary mathematics so that they can be internalised naturally by beginners. 2.2.5 The seriousness of the current situation in England should be clear to anyone willing to read between the lines of the recent Ofsted report: Mathematics: understanding the score (2008). This provides a rare oYcial insight into the unacceptable quality of current mathematics teaching in many English secondary schools. 2.2.6 How has this situation arisen? The growth of state schooling after the war was accompanied by a remarkable intake of talented and idealistic teachers, who entered teaching in the late 1940s and early 50s after having had their idealism awakened by the challenge of building a new Britain, and having had their potential “career-path” disrupted by the war. They subsequently contributed to the flowering of curriculum development in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. But they were allowed to retire—unheralded—in the 1980s, without their existence (and hence their imminent departure) ever being recognised. They were never replaced. 2.2.7 Instead of cultivating and supporting potentially excellent mathematics teachers, most eVort in recent years has focused on “emergency plumbing” for some of those who oYcially “teach mathematics”, but who lack the basic mathematics required to function. Many recent initiatives have driven many excellent mathematics teachers into other employment or early retirement, or have removed them from the classroom to join the growing army of administrators in initiative-driven agencies. 2.2.8 In the past this vacuum might have been filled by independent agencies (such as the NuYeld Foundation,ortheSchool Mathematics Project); but most such agencies have been driven out of business by the stranglehold exerted by centralisation, which has left little scope for them to operate. Thus voluntary initiatives struggle to survive. One such is the National Mathematics Teachers’ Summer School (NMTSS)—an intensive residential course, which selects 60–80 of our best young teachers each year (nominated by their schools), and opens their eyes to the wider world of elementary mathematics—sending them back to the chalkface with a new sense of the magical and subtle profession they belong to. They arrive thinking of themselves as good teachers—even the best; they leave much more self-critical, realising how much there is yet to learn. At present there is no mechanism to ensure a critical mass of high quality teachers. If we could provide this experience for 200 or more teachers each year, we could reach 5–10% of those entering the profession. But though the annual cost is trivial, and despite rave reviews, we have failed to find any agency willing to support NMTSS in the longer term and it may well not survive. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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(I have asked that a copy of the report National Mathematics Teachers’ Summer School: One year on be sent separately. If it were helpful, I could forward an electronic copy on my return to the UK at the end of February.)5 January 2009

Memorandum submitted by Mike Younger, Head of Faculty, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge Summary — The long term success of initial teacher training depends on the development of an eVective and close working partnership between HEIs and schools. — The impact of initial teacher training is best viewed as a preliminary stage in a continuing process of teacher professional development. — Quantitative approaches to measuring trainee attainment and progression are reductive, have been shown through research to be unreliable and invalid, and constrain creativity in HEI-based training courses that seek to instil the highest possible standards of teaching in the development of beginning teachers. — M level PGCE provides an eVective basis for the development of critically engaged teachers who strive to improve their teaching through rigorous and informed analysis of its impact on their pupils’ learning. — Schools’ participation in training partnerships with HEIs entails diVerent forms of explicit and implicit professional development for the teachers involved. — We have evidence that current CPD provision for new, experienced and head teachers does support and enhance their practice in school. This evidence suggests that participants in the Faculty’s CPD courses do, as a result of their engagement in the programme: gain skills, knowledge and understanding, conﬁdence; become better informed; develop fresh attitudes; are enabled to review and improve their practices; contribute to school improvement and policy renewal; and move on in their studies and in their careers. — Current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision do yield valuable evidence but this is often evidence of relatively short-term and local improvement. The quality and utility of this evidence could be signiﬁcantly enhanced if schools and local authorities were to gather, systematically and over time, evidence of the sustained impact of involvement in CPD opportunities upon whole school development priorities and improvements across clusters and groups of schools.

Measuring Quality (a) The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching. While exposure to models of good practice plays an important role in the process of initial teacher training, the notion of an “evidence base” for “good quality teaching” is problematic if it relies mainly on the use of illustrative examples of teaching strategies provided by central authorities to be reproduced in diVerent local settings as automatic triggers of eVective pupil learning. We believe that the current partnership-based framework of initial teacher training has, over the last fifteen years, been developing a more considered and research-based perspective in which “good quality teaching” is viewed less as an objective outcome or performance and more as a feature of practice that is based on a teacher’s developing understandings of teaching and learning in diVerent contexts. Good practice is also predicated on the potential for transference across contexts: the adaptation of successful teaching from one classroom and school context to another. Evidence of good practice in the form of first-hand accounts of good quality teaching is most eVectively shared through networking and collaboration between diVerent trainers, between trainees, and, most crucially, between faculty-based trainers and school-based mentors. Knowledge about “good quality teaching” is therefore not a static phenomenon but is constructed by trainees through interaction with their trainers and their peers, critical reflection on their own practice, and engagement with relevant aspects of the research and professional literatures. Trainee learning and understanding of what might constitute “good quality teaching” in their subject depends to a large extent on the diversity of shared experiences and critical discussion of common issues. At Cambridge, school-based mentors and university staV working in partnership have gradually built up a shared sense of what constitutes good and outstanding quality teaching in diVerent subjects. Drawing upon our mentors’ best practice and through engagement with academic and professional literature, our trainees are helped to aspire to the highest standards of classroom engagement. Their teaching should

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manifest a deep understanding of the intellectual structure of their disciplines and should model infectious enthusiasm for learning. Trainees are expected to be observant, reﬂective and thorough in ensuring that pupils acquire deep knowledge, think critically and become conﬁdent in their use of new concepts and skills.

(b) The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. The term “measurement” has misleading quantitative connotations which do not accurately represent the complex, holistic and dynamic nature of teaching. Despite the diYculty of any framework that seeks to categorise the diVerent features of eVective teaching, we believe Ofsted’s revised standards for QTS are suYciently flexible and qualitative to be a useful framework for assessing trainee competence in teaching without artificial notions of numerical quantification. The knowledge, skills and understandings that underpin the quality of trainee teaching (interpreted in the broad sense to include lesson planning, classroom teaching, assessment of pupils and other related activities) are best assessed through evaluation of a combination of diVerent forms of evidence including lesson observation, focused dialogue with subject mentor and faculty tutor, and critical reflection on teaching and learning in written assignments.

Entry into the Teaching Profession (c) The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT. The characteristics of trainees who are most likely to develop into “good teachers” include the following: a genuine interest and curiosity about ways of supporting pupil learning; strong communicative skills which support pupil learning through verbal interaction in lessons; having the imagination, vision and intellect to interpret a subject discipline in its fullness for the purposes of teaching and the potential to play a future role in improving curricular definitions and objectives; secure and wide-ranging subject knowledge and enthusiasm for continuing to develop up-to-date and scholarly subject knowledge through reading and research in their subject areas; the intellectual ability and imagination to find rigorous, worthwhile connections across subjects; a capacity for analysis and insightful evaluation of their own teaching and that of other teachers; strong organisational and interpersonal skills; a vocational commitment to teaching pupils of all abilities. Current entry requirements provide a useful starting-point for the development of the above mentioned dispositions. However, an additional requirement which many courses rightly recommend to applicants is that of prior experience of state schools through visits involving lesson observations and other activities. In the interests of ensuring the supply of able and committed teachers—a key factor in maintaining schools as stable environments in which children can successfully learn and develop, it is essential that entrants into the profession are motivated by vocational commitment that is underpinned by relevant first-hand experience. An important task for trainers is to develop in trainees a vision of their professional practice that sees subject pedagogy and the wider social context of schooling as closely inter-related, fostering trainee commitment to defining and developing social inclusion, to persevering creatively with supporting and enabling reluctant or disaVected learners, and to helping learners overcome any disadvantages arising from social background.

(d) The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level. The two main criteria which are currently applied (namely,geographical distribution and quality of course provision, as measured by Ofsted inspections and other indicators) seem an appropriate basis for distribution of target numbers.

(e) Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers. The existence of a diversity of routes into teaching is justifiable if specific routes attract cohorts of applicants who would not otherwise apply to ITT courses (for instance, GTP employment-based courses useful serve the needs of applicants who are tied to a particular location). However diversity of routes does not justify diversity of quality or diversity in standards of provision.

(f) The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession. With regard to recruitment of ethnic minority applicants, we support the recent shift of focus in the distribution of additional funding from TDA from one of evenness of spread across all institutions to one of proportionate funding on the basis of successful recruitment of candidates from ethnic minority communities. Ethnic communities are not evenly represented in the populations of diVerent regions of the country and therefore institutions in some areas are likely to attract larger numbers than those in other regions and should therefore receive a proportionately higher level of funding targeted for this purpose. However, we view the reduction of the bursary for trainees on early years and primary PGCE courses (from £6,000 to £4,000) as a retrograde step in the drive to recruit good quality teachers to this sector. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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(g) The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession. The existing system of ITET provision is a sound basis for the preparation of trainees for entry into the profession provided the system is allowed to evolve in appropriate directions on the basis of knowledge and experience built up by subject lecturers and subject teaching communities (such as subject associations or research published by subject teachers themselves) who collectively deﬁne and develop increasingly impressive benchmarks of high quality subject learning. Success of the system is also dependent on a conception of initial teacher training as an integral preliminary step in the process of continuing professional development of teachers. The introduction of M level PGCE has provided a very useful framework for enhancing the integration of professional practice and knowledge of relevant generic and subject speciﬁc educational issues. There is a need for further policy thinking in relation to preparing teachers for working with pupils with special needs and in schools in challenging contexts.

The Delivery of ITT (h) The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT. The frequency of Ofsted inspections and the volume of data that is required as submission of evidence for inspection is a constraining factor on the development of innovation and diversity in the delivery of the training. The encouragement to adopt a numerical grading system to record trainees’ attainment at diVerent stages of the process is also an unwelcome and restrictive process that encourages conformity rather than creativity. Coherence and success within and across courses should be measured on the basis of quality of provision rather than on uniformity of procedures and indicators. Such a progression pattern might require trainees to experiment, take risks and experience temporary “failure” in order to move them outside of their comfort zones. It might also involve them in researching contrasting approaches to raising standards, developing better models through rigorous research into the eVects of their own practice and re-thinking curricular terminology to strengthen and deepen pupils’ thinking and knowledge in their subjects. Uniformity of procedures and indicators, especially an expectation that progress can be measured through straightforward assessments of overt performance only, using numerical indicators, greatly reduces Providers’ opportunities to create teachers of very high calibre who could have a transformative eVect on standards in schools. High quality Providers currently innovate in diVerent ways, such as in the design of frameworks of assignments that represent progression in trainee learning across the year. Another example of an area of innovation is the use of virtual environments as platforms for feedback, access to resources and for enabling online discussion between trainees, independently or with their tutors, while on placement at diVerent schools. Such online environments are also helpful in supporting three-way discussion (trainee— mentor—faculty tutor) and for eVective communication between groups of partnership mentors and for professional tutors

(i) The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision. Higher education institutions play a crucial role in relation to ITT. HEIs make a distinctive contribution in diVerent ways, including giving trainees and school-based trainers access to up-to-date research on teaching, learning and assessment. PGCE lecturers directly engaged in relevant ﬁelds of research or serving on advisory panels for DCSF or other oYcial bodies provide their trainees with key insights into educational policies and their impact on schooling. Drawing upon their unique breadth of contact with and experience in co-researching with a wide range of schools, HEIs have developed a distinctive role in developing mentor expertise. HEIs can create strong communities of mentors supporting each other across schools and through Masters-level work. These communities develop sophisticated understanding of how to stretch a trainee teacher—understandings which transcend what they could acquire merely in their own school or school type. School visits from lecturers to discuss their trainees’ progress crucially entail dialogue with relevant school-based trainers, thus providing ongoing support and induction of school staV into the training process. The involvement of teachers in the mentoring of PGCE students is a form of CPD for the individuals involved as well as often providing a model for a school’s professional development programme for all its teaching staV.

(j) Whether the current nature of the partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable. The current framework of partnership between schools and higher education is crucial for the reasons given above and is vital for the future of high quality teacher education in this country. Without this close dialogue between staV collaborating between the two sides of the partnership it is diYcult to see how teacher training can ﬂourish and develop. Recognition of the importance of school involvement in teacher training would be enhanced if this were included as an item on the Ofsted school evaluation form (SEF). We regret the decision to discontinue funding for the Primary Training Schools initiative, as, in collaboration with HEIs, this was another useful source of exposure to excellence in practice for primary trainees. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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(k) The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings. At a national level development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, both school-based and HEI-based, remains sketchy. The introduction of entry fees for the GTCE’s TLA accreditation of mentoring training programmes may lead to a signiﬁcant drop in the number of teachers registering on such courses. Locally designed mentor training programmes in HEI-based courses are eVective ways of providing this developmental support for mentors and potential mentors from partnership schools as the programmes are tailored to the context of the course. In addition, seconded mentor schemes, such as the one in place at Cambridge University, are eVective ways of nurturing “new blood” within ITT and in supporting the training proﬁle of teachers in school.

(l) The role of educational research in informing ITT provision. In our view the role of educational research in ITT is best viewed from the perspective of its usefulness to trainees in the development of their classroom practice. On the one hand trainees need to draw on a range of examples of eVective practice, to critically examine the reasons for that eVectiveness and to consider how others have attempted to solve seemingly intractable problems in pupil learning. To do this they must go beyond their immediate setting and to reﬂect upon published accounts of related practice. On the other hand PGCE courses also develop trainees as producers of research through systematic investigations into aspects of their own classroom practice. In this way trainees’ use of research informs the transformation of the beliefs and assumptions about teaching and learning that they bring with them at the start of the course and contributes to their development as teachers and their inclusion in the professional community of teachers as constructors of knowledge.

CPD Provision (a) Current CPD provision for teachers. We have evidence that current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers does support and enhance their practice in school. This evidence suggests that participants in the Faculty’s CPD courses do, as a result of their engagement in the programme: — gain skills, knowledge and understanding; — gain in confidence; — become better informed; — develop fresh attitudes; — become enabled to review and improve their practices; — contribute to school improvement and policy renewal; — move on in their studies and in their careers. Some of the evidence for this claim comes directly from student evaluations. In their evaluation of the “Understanding Shakespeare through Performance” course in 2008, for example, 100% of students said the course was “very valuable” to them professionally; 100% said their learning as a result of the course had been “good” or “excellent”; and 100% said the course had aVected their professional practice significantly. In the 2008 “Shaping progression in the secondary history curriculum” course, one participant said: “It has been the best course I have been on for three years. . . I have found the wealth of discussion the highlight of my year.” Participants in the “Getting Started in Careers Education and Guidance” and “Advising and Consulting on Careers Education and Guidance” courses in 2008 said that they had “clearer understanding” and “better awareness” about careers education and guidance; one person said she was: “able to direct policy” and “lead development” in this area as a result of the course. Evidence of enhanced practice also comes from the assignments that students write as an integral element of their participation in the Faculty’s CPD programme. The comments written by markers about the work produced by individual students provide direct feedback for participants and support them in acknowledging their own learning, for example: — “You show knowledge and understanding of key literature in the field of student engagement and you helpfully provide good definitions of key terms and concepts.” — “In your conclusion, you reflect well upon your study, explaining clearly what you have learnt from your findings.” Sets of comments provided by markers on the work produced by individual participants also routinely record the extent to which students’ work impacts upon whole school or wider developments, for example: — “You indicate the impact you expect your research will have on your future practice.” — “Part of the work was presented to the whole school in a session on independent learning and it is recorded how the approach has been received by the subject team.” — Further evidence of impact upon schools and the wider educational community is noted by tutors and link lecturers when they prepare reports based on their moderation activities. One moderation Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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report in 2008 noted that: “This has been a highly successful course with all except five schools in the Borough participating.” Elsewhere moderators state: “There is evidence in many schools of the impact the increased skills, knowledge and understanding of the participants has had on the development of provision for many children, not only those with speech and language needs.” Moderators also found that: “There was considerable evidence of the ways in which the course seeks to support participants in taking a systematic and reflective approach to bringing about improvements in their practice.” Evidence such as this is also noted by the Faculty’s External Examiners for PPD. In 2008 they suggested, for example, that: “it is evident from the student’s work that this is a professionally relevant programme of study”; that “commitment to the improvement of the student’s own practice, and often that of others too, is very apparent”; and that “this is an impressive programme and it is clear that the partnership between staV and students is resulting in some innovative and potent professional development.” On the basis of this evidence, and drawing upon informal contacts with participants in the Faculty’s CPD programme, their senior managers and oYcers from local authorities, we would argue that the Faculty’s current CPD provision has a highly significant and positive eVect on the teachers’ and head teachers’ practice in schools. This eVect could be enhanced if more teachers, more schools and more local authorities could take up CPD opportunities and work in close partnership with bodies such as the Faculty in order to develop collaboratively courses and research and improvement strategies tailored precisely to the needs of staV in schools.

(b) The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. Current arrangements do yield valuable evidence, as detailed above, but this is often evidence of relatively short-term and local improvement. The quality and utility of this evidence could be signiﬁcantly enhanced if schools and local authorities were to gather, systematically and over time, evidence of the sustained impact of involvement in CPD opportunities upon whole school development priorities and improvements across clusters and groups of schools. At the Faculty of Education, we have some experience of individual senior managers and local authority oYcers undertaking research into the impact of CPD involvement upon schools and communities of schools in this way and writing major reports about their work. These reports have been immensely useful both to the Faculty and to our school and local authority partners since they enable all parties to reﬂect on the value, in terms of enhanced practices, of the work we do together. It would be excellent if individual initiatives such as these were to be routinely incorporated into the planning and evaluation of CPD provision and supported as a regular, widespread and ongoing element in the process of gathering evidence of impact in the longer term. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by Afasic Summary — Currently, teacher training, both in the initial course and ongoing training, does not equip teachers adequately to teach children with SEN. — ITT should include a grounding in SEN. — Teachers need to be able to identify diVerent forms of SEN. — Teachers need to know how to teach eVectively a class of around 30 children all with varying levels of ability and disability. — Clarity is needed about the respective roles of classroom teachers and specialists. — The current shortage of many specialists needs to be addressed. — Clarity is needed regarding the respective roles of teachers and teaching assistants. — TAs should have mandatory training and only be appointed to positions for which they are qualiﬁed.

Introduction 1. Afasic is the UK-wide charity representing children and young people with speech and language impairments. Afasic welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to this inquiry. 2. Afasic primarily represents children with speciﬁc speech and language impairments, that is to say their impairment is not caused by a physical or sensory disability, such as hearing impairment or cerebral palsy, and their intelligence is within the “normal” range. 3. Speech and language may be impaired in any or all of the following ways: — The child may have diYculty articulating speech clearly. — The child may have diYculty understanding language. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— The child may have diYculty learning and remembering words, and putting words together to make sentences and paragraphs. — The child may have diYculty using language appropriately in context. 4. Speech and language impairments may be associated with other cognitive impairments, including: — Poor memory. —DiYculties with social interaction and relating normally to other people. — Poor organisational skills. — Poor reasoning skills. —DiYculties with generalising knowledge and learning from experience. — Poor predictive skills. —DiYculty understanding cause and eVect. 5. As a result, although they are of normal intelligence, children with speech and language impairments often function and perform at quite low levels and have real diYculty with many aspects of daily life and learning, including acquiring literacy and numeracy skills. 6. Speech and language impairments aVect 6% of school-aged children. The majority of these will be at the lower end of the age range, as most children’s speech and language skills improve as they get older, especially if they are given appropriate support by speech and language therapists and teaching staV. However, even where a clinical diagnosis of speech and language impairment is no longer appropriate, children and young people may still have any or all of the cognitive diYculties described above which will aVect their learning and performance at school. It should also be noted that 1 in 500 children has a persistent, life-long speech and language impairment, which will aVect them throughout their time at school and beyond. 7. Afasic’s contribution to this inquiry reﬂects the experiences and aspirations of families with children who have speech and language impairments.

Comments 8. The Select Committee asks about the extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, with particular reference to SEN among other things. Our submission focuses on the SEN issue, as this is a matter of common concern to families of children with speech and language impairments. 9. In our experience, many, perhaps most, teachers are not able or willing to meet the needs of children with SLI adequately. So, clearly, initial teacher training has not prepared teachers for this task. Very recently, there have been moves to include more about SEN in ITT, but it is too soon to know how successful they have been (or indeed whether anything essential has been lost to make room for the new SEN modules). 10. Afasic’s view is that ITT for all teachers, including those taking PGCE courses, should include a grounding in SEN. This should include learning about normal and abnormal development in children and the range of SEN and other disabilities they may encounter. The SEN Code of Practice expects teachers to be able to identify the needs of children with SEN and provide appropriate support. This can be extremely diYcult to do, as several diVerent types of SEN can look very similar superficially, and skilled assessment is required to determine the child’s precise needs. Few teachers have the necessary skills to do this and so too many children, including a significant proportion of those with SLI, fail to receive appropriate support. Equipping teachers to identify needs more accurately is essential. 11. Training needs to go much further than this though, either in ITT or subsequently, and address the practicalities entailed in supporting children with SEN eVectively. In particular, teachers need to know how to meet a full range of needs in a class of around 30 children, some of whom may be able to progress very quickly while others, including many of those with SEN, may need very intensive support to make only small steps forward. At the moment, too few teachers are able to do this eVectively. 12. Clarity is needed about how much support mainstream teachers are expected to give children with SEN themselves and when they should involve specialists. By specialists, we mean not only teachers with various specialist skills, but also therapists, especially speech and language therapists for children with speech and language impairments. 13. Mainstream teachers need to be able to identify what specialists are required in what circumstances and then be able to access the appropriate specialist(s) readily. Sadly this does not always happen at the moment. Children with speech and language impairments may inappropriately be referred to behaviour or literacy support, often because the true nature of their needs is not recognised, or sometimes because of the diYculty in accessing speech and language therapists or other specialists. The current shortage of highly- skilled specialists of all types, therapists and teachers, must be addressed. Years ago, local authorities often funded teachers to take one or two-year courses on teaching children with specific types of SEN. Now this Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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rarely happens. Short “twilight” sessions are held to be suYcient and teachers wanting to do more in-depth courses often have to fund them themselves. Not surprisingly many are unable or unwilling to do this, and we now face a “time-bomb” of specialist teachers approaching retirement age and not being replaced. 14. Clarification is also needed regarding the use of teaching assistants to support children with SEN. Paradoxically, perhaps, they may, in diVerent situations, be both over-used and undervalued. All too often teachers have little direct interaction with children with SEN, leaving them almost entirely in the charge of their teaching assistants. This places an unreasonable burden on teaching assistants, particularly if they lack expertise, and penalises children with SEN who then receive an inadequate education. It also means that teachers themselves fail to develop expertise in teaching children with SEN. On the other hand the school “pecking order” can mean that recommendations made by skilled and experienced teaching assistants, who may know and understand the needs of the children with SEN in their charge much better than their teachers, are ignored or over-ruled by teachers with a poor understanding of SEN issues, again to the detriment of the children concerned. 15. One problem is that the competencies of teaching assistants can vary enormously. Some have considerable expertise, drawing on years of experience and/or high-quality training. Others have only recently been co-opted into their positions and may have been given little or no training. This means that there is huge variation between schools and among teachers as to how they see the role of teaching assistants. 16. Teachers need to know how to make best use of teaching assistants to support children with SEN in order to optimise their own performances and the progress of the children. This should form a part of ITT, and be monitored and reinforced throughout a teacher’s career. 17. There should be mandatory training for teaching assistants to diVerent levels and covering diVerent skills and types of SEN. The requirements for each teaching assistant position should be clearly set out, and teaching assistants should not be appointed to posts for which they are not qualified, or expected to undertake tasks not specified in their contract. The management structures within schools should acknowledge the specific expertise and contribution made by teaching assistants to the support of children with SEN. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) 1. Introduction The Association for Citizenship Teaching (ACT) exists to further the aims of Citizenship teaching and learning, championing citizenship education to all young people and supporting teachers and schools in delivering the subject. We connect teachers to regional and national networks, oVering training, CPD, support and advice. Citizenship education should equip young people with the skills and knowledge to exercise their democratic responsibility and engage in public life therefore ACT supports teachers and schools in developing an understanding and appreciation of the three themes of the Citizenship education curriculum: Democracy and Justice; Rights and Responsibilities; and Identity and Diversity, living together in the UK. Citizenship is not just about the lesson content it is also about embedding the concepts and practices of democracy into the culture and the school. As well as the Citizenship teacher, ACT therefore supports the whole school in delivering Citizenship education in the classroom and beyond. ACT was founded in 2002 when Citizenship became statutory in schools in England.

2. Executive Summary Entry into the teaching profession — ACT is concerned that those who go in to Citizenship education training through non PGCE routes are not connected to the greater body of trainees and sometimes lost in terms of further support. This applies especially to those who enter through Graduate Training schemes or SCITTs

The delivery of ITT — ACT is encouraged by the nature of current provision of ITT for Citizenship education through the current PGCE certiﬁcate but notes to lack of aspiration in terms of numbers of students recruited to the Citizenship PGCE and also the lack of a provision on Citizenship education in all PGCE ITT courses.

CPD provision — ACT believes that the provision for CPD regarding Citizenship education is underserved and that though there has been considerable investment in Citizenship education CPD—and success with some courses—the model delivering the DCSF CPD Citizenship Certiﬁcate has not delivered the best returns regarding recruitment to the courses across the country. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3. Entry into the Teaching Profession The routes to entry into teaching are generally well organized regarding recruitment. Whilst ACT works closely with CitizED—the group of HEIs who provide Citizenship PGCE courses—we ﬁnd it a great deal more diYcult to make connections with those trainees who take alternatives routes—via GT schemes or SCITT. These latter seem unable to provide information about trainees to ACT or connect trainees to ACT. This means that we are unable to draw such trainees into the Citizenship education community or follow their progress through training and into post with support and advice. This is especially worrying against a background of changing curriculum in both secondary and primary and the range of policies and initiatives that Citizenship education is central to eg Community Cohesion or Student Voice. Citizenship education is a key to understanding how these two impact upon schools and yet they are unlikely to be given much space during the trainees’ time with tutors or in schools during teaching practice. ACT would like to see those who manage the GT scheme and SCITTs engage more closely so as to ensure that there is adequate support for these trainees beyond their initial training. This requires a coherence in training that does not exist at the moment.

4. The Delivery of ITT Regarding the delivery of ITT in Citizenship education, ACT has always been impressed by the support and direction of CitizED—a project of the TDA that joins the providers of Citizenship education PGCE together. ACT has worked closely with CitizED since 2002 and has enjoyed a positive working relationship. However, ACT is concerned at the lack of numbers who are able to enroll on this PGCE course. We know that there is still wide interest in becoming a Citizenship education teacher; for many students of social sciences, law or politics this is their route into teaching, especially in secondary schools. We know that often these students want only to teach Citizenship and that if they cannot train to teach this subject they will not enroll on any other ITT course. For example, at Exeter University the Citizenship PGCE course had more than double the number of applications to train in 2007. Those who were not able to get onto the training were lost to the profession—potentially very highly motivated teachers. The solution is to increase the number of places available for trainees in Citizenship education at the HEIs that run PGCE courses in Citizenship education. Currently there are just more than 1,100 trained Citizenship teachers who have completed their PGCE course. This is not enough to ensure that the subject is taught well in all schools. We have let down a generation of students by using reluctant, non-specialists to teach Citizenship and we must tackle this as a priority. Those trained teachers we do have tended to be of high quality and high energy, who are able to convince SLT to support Citizenship and secure curriculum time. There are no better advocates for the subject than the specialists. However, more than this they bring the expertise to the school to enable young people to have quality lesson time where topical and controversial issues like terrorism and extremism can be explored with conﬁdent and competent teachers. Similarly, such teachers are also able to better articulate the essence of the Duty to Promote community Cohesion or the detail of the recent guidance Learning to be Safe Together. The picture is further complicated by the nature of PGCE courses per se. Whilst all training may be of high quality, the training does focus on the subject the trainee is wanting to teach. This means that time for whole school matters—such as Citizenship education—is lost. As stated earlier, Citizenship education is a key to unlocking aspects of the culture of the school and its links with the community. These matters are not the responsibility of one department in the school alone or one subject. All staV need to have this understanding and therefore there is a need to ensure that all trainees in all subjects have time to look at Citizenship education in the context of the whole school and the community as well as how their subject relates to Citizenship education. The third aim of the purpose of schools is to create Responsible Citizens; all staV therefore need to be able to engage with this aim. In training there seems to be little evidence that many trainees outside Citizenship education PGCE courses do engage with this broad aim. The aim itself has he implications for training. We need to consider how these needs can be met during a tight one year training opportunity.

5. CPD Provision ACT is concerned at the state of CPD for existing teachers regarding Citizenship education. The current DCSF certificated course has not recruited the number of candidates that the DCSF had expected it to do so. Original funding allowed for the recruitment of over 1,200 teachers in the first two years. We are now into year three and the number of those who have completed the Citizenship CPD Certificate is well below 800. This we believe is due to three aspects; the management of the CPD, the lack of publicity and the weakness of tying such CPD to M Level courses. Central to all three has been the lack of opportunity for local authorities to be involved in the Citizenship CPD courses. ACT believes that there is a large cohort of teachers who would like to take part in such CPD courses but they are put oV by the current way the CPD course is tied to CAT points for M Level. Though many teachers might aspire to M Level at some stage, currently they just want to gain greater competency in Citizenship teaching and learning. The management of the CPD course is currently with Plymouth University but previously it was with DCSF. This department did not have the capacity to closely manage the CPD and Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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therefore the HEIs who ran the CPD courses did so in virtual isolation. These HEIs were not there specifically to recruit and run CPD courses—their remit is ITT. Therefore the HEIs did not easily have the capacity to run eVective recruitment and publicity campaigns for the Citizenship CPD. Consequently many teachers have not been aware of the course unless they have been members of ACT or they have heard about the courses through other routes—the ACT website for example. If local authorities had been involved in the CPD from the start then the picture would have been diVerent. For example, at Winchester University the CPD course has been run by the University with ACT and Hampshire LA. For the past three years the course has recruited strongly. The same happened at Carlisle University. Many other such courses failed to recruit because the local authority adviser for Citizenship was not involved. The model we need to replicate is the PSHE Certificate CPD which ties the local authority in to all aspects of the CPD course. Regarding head teachers and SLT, ACT believes that NCSL are currently making strident moves in ensuring that aspects of Citizenship education, including student voice, active participation and the Duty to Promote Community Cohesion are included in all their training programmes. This has not always been the case but ACT has been successful in working with NCSL in recent months to raise the profile of Citizenship education as a whole school matter rather than a subject specific one and also as a key to eVective communities and school improvement. ACT will work to ensure that NCSL provides adequate range and opportunity for such aspects to be inherent in all its programmes for senior teachers, middle management and head teachers. If the implications of the revised secondary curriculum are to be met—the aims of the curriculum and the aspirations of the QCA Big Picture—then the quality and place of Citizenship training must be implicit and explicit to NCSL programmes.

6. Recommendations and Conclusions Entry into the teaching profession and delivery of ITT. — That the number of ITT PGCE places for Citizenship is increased and that those who undertake any form of Citizenship education training be connected to ACT. That all those who train to become teachers have adequate time at their HEI to explore Citizenship education in its widest context.

CPD provision — That the model for providing Citizenship CPD Certificate follow that for the PSHE certificate and that local authorities be tied far more closely to the CPD certificate. That NCSL ensure that their programmes for leading middle managers and aspiring heads contain real quality in Citizenship education CPD. ACT would draw attention to the recommendations that were made to government in February 2007 by the Select Committee regarding Citizenship education during its inquiry into Citizenship education in 2006–07. Paragraphs 21 and 22 of the Select Committees report made specific recommendations. The Government response was made available in May 2007. In paragraphs 21 and 22 the Government response clearly indicated that it was aware of many of the matters raised above. It would be useful for the current Select Committee inquiry into Initial Teacher Training and CPD refer to these two documents. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by TreeHouse About TreeHouse TreeHouse is the national charity for autism education. Our vision is to transform through education the lives of children with autism and the lives of their families. Established in 1997 by a group of parents, TreeHouse runs a school for children and young people with autism and campaigns for better autism education nationally. Our core work is to ensure that every child and young person with autism is supported and able to participate fully in society, through education that will truly meet their needs and through our work to make society inclusive of children with autism and their families. Through our direct educational provision and through our projects which support parents to campaign and participate we have been able to build extensive knowledge and expertise around best practice in the education of children with autism. TreeHouse School has 67 pupils and we represent them and their families. Our Parent Support Project and Parent Participation Project work with many parents around the UK. Through networks the coverage of these groups reaches up to 1,000 parents. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Summary — All initial teacher training programmes should include a mandatory module on special educational needs (SEN), which would include autism-speciﬁc training. — Understanding of autism is critical for teachers to plan and deliver personalised, relevant and broad curricula to pupils with autism. — Training should further teachers’ understanding of the unique needs of each child with autism and other SEN, rather than generalisations and stereotypes. — Teacher training should focus on preparing teachers to work with parents and a range of professionals to best meet the needs of children with autism. — Headteachers need to be engaged to promote good practice in schools and to remove barriers to the application of eVective training.

The importance of teacher training in promoting a successful education for children with autism 1. TreeHouse recently published a research report on “getting inclusive education right for children with autism”.6 We asked parents what factors contributed to a successful, inclusive education that met the needs of children with autism. The issue of teacher training came up repeatedly. An overwhelming majority of parents cited autism-specific training as the pivotal factor contributing to the delivery of education that meets their child’s needs. 2. We know that an eVective education for children with autism is one that is child-centred. Every child with autism is diVerent, experiencing diVerent strengths and challenges and their education must reflect this. 3. It is only through autism-specific lessons in teacher training which emphasise the range of pupil profiles of children on the autism spectrum that teachers will be able to understand each child’s unique needs and tailor their curriculum appropriately. 4. The understanding gained through comprehensive autism training is key to enabling other factors for a successful education for children with autism. For example, a more thorough understanding of autism will help teachers to be more eVective in preventing exclusions and bullying, recognising and rewarding the achievements of children with autism, and understanding and meeting the broader educational needs that children with autism have.

The contents of teacher training 5. TreeHouse would like to see a module on special educational needs (SEN) as a compulsory component of all initial teacher training programmes. With one in five school aged children classified as having SEN,7 every teacher will eVectively need to be a SEN teacher and it is imperative that they are adequately trained. 6. A module on SEN should focus on the key characteristics of the most commonly arising SEN. Trainee teachers should also be able to review a range of pupil profiles for each diVerent SEN to help them generalise the core characteristics they have learnt. 7. Modules on SEN typically include a range of strategies for working with children with diVerent SEN. Opportunities for trainee teachers to put these strategies into practice are all too rare, and this can result in a more generalised approach. 8. This module should cover the core deficits of autism, while also explaining how these may manifest diVerently for each unique child, across the autism spectrum. The core deficits of autism are as follows: (a) developing communication and language (b) social understanding (c) flexible thinking 9. Teacher training about SEN should encourage teachers to start planning a child’s curriculum by assessing their individual needs and abilities. For teaching children with autism this may be achieved by assessing the child’s skills and basing their curriculum around those, rather than based on broader expectations for that child’s age. 10. Similarly, we would like initial teacher training to encourage trainee teachers to look to the causes of challenging behaviour and work to reduce the triggers for challenging behaviour, rather than concentrating on challenging behaviour as it arises. 11. Teacher training should enable and equip new teachers to work eVectively with Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), to help plan lessons and co-ordinate curricula. This will help support teachers to make their broader curriculum more relevant and inclusive for any children with autism in their class.

6 Improving Inclusion: getting inclusive education right for children with autism (written and researched by Robbie de Santos and Sasha Daly), September 2008. http://www.treehouse.org.uk/ download/KEVPFQOX.pdf 7 School Census 2008, Department for Children, Schools and Families. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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12. Initial teacher training should provide teachers with an understanding of how to work eVectively with parents to ensure a consistency of approach and gain a more thorough understanding of each child’s speciﬁc needs. Teachers cannot be expected to know everything about a child, especially if they have complex needs, so a constructive partnership with parents is crucial in ensuring a child with autism’s education is meeting their broader needs. 13. Similarly, teacher training should also help equip teachers to understand the beneﬁts of working with a multi-disciplinary range of professionals, including speech therapists and occupational therapists, who may be involved in delivering the broad curriculum required by some children with autism. 14. Generally, there is insuYcient focus on play skills for children with autism, as it is often assumed that these are already learned. It is essential that trainee teachers preparing to teach early years provision realise that children with autism may need to be taught play skills; this is important to helping children with autism meet the “enjoy and achieve” criteria of Every Child Matters. Similarly, teaching leisure skills is relevant for older children with autism; these are also critical in meeting the “enjoy and achieve” criteria of Every Child Matters.

How to make teacher training eVective 15. The attitude of the headteacher can have a huge inﬂuence over how the school workforce carries out their roles. TreeHouse calls for Government and local authorities to remind headteachers to view the quality of education for children with autism, and other SEN, as a priority. 16. Attitudes of the headteacher are crucial; Learning Support Assistants, SENCOs and classroom teachers can have high quality training and good intentions, but unless they have support, willingness and openness at the highest level, the training will not be eVective as they will not be able to put their new learning into practice. In the TreeHouse inclusive education research report, one parent told us that the success of their child’s education “…depends on the attitude of the Head, which ﬁlters down to the staV.” 17. Continual professional development for SENCOs should keep SENCOs up-to-date with the latest research on interventions, so that they are able to promote and apply up-to-date evidence-based practice. 18. Continual professional development needs to be presented by senior management as a recognition of each staV member’s existing skills, capacity to learn and perform new skills and an investment in their future. This should help foster more positive attitudes towards training across the school workforce. 19. Finally,teachers need time to make these extra considerations. They need time to spend planning their lessons to ensure they are inclusive and relevant for each of the children with special educational needs in their class and to put their training to use. Teachers often report being so busy that they are unable to put new training into practice. TreeHouse would like teachers’ planning, preparation and assessment time to be protected so that teachers are able to perform their valuable role as best they can. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT) 1. Introduction and Summary of the Main Points 1.1 This submission presents information to show that school-based initial teacher training8 oVers a form of ITT that is diVerent to that oVered by higher education institutions (HEIs) and of no less quality or importance. Four key advantages of school-based training are evident: — Professional learning that is personalised not just to the trainee’s needs but also to the context, locality and networks within which the trainee will be working. This is a contributory factor in the high retention rates of ex-school-based trained teachers. — Highly networked, mini-federations of schools in who’s collective interests it is to monitor and extend the quality of learning for all. — Smaller than most HEIs, the school-based ITT organisations maintain rigor and manage quality assurance through human-scale structures and systems backed up by accredited external veriﬁers. — The specially selected ITT expert tutors, are constantly at the chalk-face and therefore in a truly dynamic relationship with those who are at the centre of what we do—the pupils. This currency and credibility is highly valued by participants in ITT and applicants to the profession. 1.2 School-based training provides trainees with a whole school picture of the school year from the initial establishment of learning and behaviour management routines, ethos’s and cultures, through the stages of pupils’ learning developments to the period of transition to the next stage. Thus the trainees are well-placed to observe and experience the wider roles and responsibilities of teachers in the school setting and beyond. These trainees can experience the principles that underpin the processes of Assessment for Learning (AfL),

8 In this text, school-based initial teacher training (ITT) refers only to that training that is delivered largely on the school site (Early Years, Primary and Secondary) by School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) or Employment Based Initial Teacher Training (EBITT) organisations. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) and target setting, with suYcient time to observe and measure pupils’ progress in order to inform progress and attainment. Strategically, the school-based training context allows trainees to take on and develop a role within a school and so commit to and contribute to, the school’s aims and objectives and, most importantly, perceive themselves as integral to school improvement. All these opportunities are important and less likely with trainees on other routes who are guests of the school for brief placement periods. 1.3 Additionally, the school-based mentors perceive their role as extending beyond hosting a trainee for classroom and subject teaching and see their work as part of a whole school process of CPD.

2. Measuring Quality in ITT 2.1 NASBTT fully agrees with the Ofsted’s perception of good quality teaching as described in its framework for Grade 1 ITT providers.9 2.2 We perceive the characteristics of high quality school-based training as clearly linked to high standards in the school. This would include working to a core purpose known by all, a thorough knowledge of the ITT and school curricula, strong and meaningful partnerships and links between diVerent aspects of learning and professional development and the modeling of best practice. 2.3 School-based ITT is inextricably linked to and informed by, the teaching and learning strategies and innovations in schools. 2.4 The quality of trainees’ teaching is constantly measured on the school site in three ways; Trainees’ ongoing professional practice, their broader and deeper pedagogical understanding as assessed orally in mentor feedback and in written assignments by school-based ITT specialist tutors and the process and outcome of the trainees’ action research. 2.5 School-based training in schools inevitably includes what HEIs provide at their centres. However the tuition is arguably more authentic because schools are resourced for school-based learning and for a higher education level of study of pedagogy. The tuition and outcomes are both moderated by both ITT-specialist tutors and the schools’ own performance management processes. 2.6 Suggestions that school-based ITT oVers a dumbed-down form of training are not supported by evidence. Ofsted have graded a signiﬁcant number of school-based Providers as Outstanding, the Training & Development Agency (TDA) has categorized many as Grade A Providers and the Universities have willingly validated school-based PGCEs at H and M levels.

3. Entry into the Teaching Profession 3.1 School-based ITT admissions tutors are aware of the need to consider the full experiences and broader qualifications of ITT applicants when considering the characteristics of those who are most likely to become good teachers. This arises from prior ITT experiences and also an awareness that class of degree and course completion quality are not clearly correlated. Admissions tutors are primarily concerned with the applicant’s potential to teach in schools and their greater awareness of education in the community. Older applicants to ITT, more typically found in school-based ITT programmes,10 tend to have a rich variety of valuable non-academic qualifications gained subsequent to their first degree graduation. Using the same perspective as they have for their pupils, school-based tutors think “is the applicant a good learner (at this point in their life)?” As opposed to giving the priority to an applicant’s past learning. 3.2 School-based ITT trainees tend to have a slightly lower class of degree on entry compared to their HEI-based counterparts.11 NASBTT’s experience is that this is due to older applicant’s constraint of their undergraduate studies by other commitments and responsibilities; in contrast to the relatively unconstrained younger students. 3.3 There is some anecdotal evidence that lower class degree holders do less well in ITT, however an adherence to that as a rule might result in a lost opportunity to produce a teacher of quality on exit from the programme. 3.4 School-based routes into teaching are eVective in attracting those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers. However one needs to recognise that “skills and attributes” suggest so much more than class of degree. Indeed SCITT and EBITT trainees in the primary sector, including those Category A Providers, often do not have degrees directly related to National Curriculum subjects. Overall, school-based training comprises approximately 7% of the ITT provision however they are training more than 7% of the priority subject trainees. Inevitably, if one is seeking to attract to a shortage subject then you have to dig deeper! 3.5 School-based routes into teaching are eVective in developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers. The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector 2007–08 clearly states “There is little diVerence in the judgements made about school-centred training schemes and those led by higher education institutions”. This is a similar position to that reported by HMI in 2006–07.

9 Ofsted 2007. 10 TDA Newly Qualiﬁed Teacher Survey: 5 Year analysis (TDA 2008). 11 TDA ITT Providers database 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3.6 NASBTT is not convinced that the current national prioritization is appropriate for the school-based training allocations. We do not feel that it reflects the national agenda for schools since most school-based training allocations are only in the priority subjects. If we were recruiting and training for the schools’ futures we would be considering broader curricula, learning and inclusivity features than the very subject and related degree-specific strategy now used. For example school-based ITT is very well placed to produce excellent teachers of early reading, PLTs, SEAL and community languages but how are these recruits acquired? This point being particularly identified recently by HMIs in this regard12 3.7 Recent Ofsted’s reports on the numerous outstanding school-based programmes refer to strengths in the leadership and management of the ITT programmes, consistently high quality and well resourced training, rigorous assessment of progress, selection processes that inform the very eVective support and diVerentiated training for individual needs and most importantly the commitment, involvement, communication and support from the staV.13 3.8 Head teachers (employers) have praised the process of and outcomes from, school-based ITT.14 3.9 School-based training enriches the teaching profession with a broader diversity of recruitment. School-based providers generally do not recruit the school-to-university-to-ITT applicant typical of many university ITT Providers. School-based providers are reaching a broader age and type profile;15 perhaps attracting people that the HEIs are not. Some NASBTT members consider that the breadth of ethnic diversity for some, urban, school-based training providers may be the result of some applicants wishing to stay nearer to their local community centres rather than travel to the less familiar context of a university. 3.10 School-based ITT is an eVective means to improve innovation in the teaching profession most noticeably because its structures and systems enable it to be faster to respond to changes in the schools’ sector and the education environment in general. By being immersed in schools, the providers’ ITT management decisions are more school-focused and indeed ITT strategies and innovations inform school practice. Schools know the current and next agenda and have taken steps to fund and resource it, with the inevitable impact on their ITT programmes. This contrasts with the important and rigorous university management and validation procedures that operate over longer time-spans. 3.11 The applicants for the early years, primary and secondary schools’ sectors are selected, interviewed and recruited with the Professional Standards for Teachers (Q & C) in mind. Pre-training school visits and tasks are framed around how children learn, how children are managed and subject pedagogy and demonstrate continuity with the training. Indeed school-based trainees are better placed than ever before as a result of Curriculum 2008 which focuses much attention on the Key Stage transitions and the 14–19 Diploma developments which necessitate strong school—further education partnerships; Trainees do not study these developments from afar but are immersed in them! 3.12 School-based trained Newly Qualified Teachers consistently confirm the quality of their preparation for working with SEN pupils. A recent key finding by the TDA16 was that for primary and secondary sectors, school-based ITT provision for work with SEN pupils received the highest ratings (92% of Very Goods and Goods for primary and 87% of the same for secondary). This exceeds the ratings oVered by trainees on other programmes. This diVerence between the providers was illustrated further in a recent Ofsted Report.17 3.13 The challenge of working with minority ethnic and multi-lingual learners is met via the school-based providers’ close relationship with Local Authority EMAGs specialists. The input from these advisors has enabled ITT tutors to tailor their training in this area to the actual, immediate and predicted needs for the local context.

4. The Delivery of ITT 4.1 School-based providers encourage innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT because it is in their “Accreditation Agreement” with the TDA and therefore they are held to account for that. Furthermore, ITT management is integral to school managements and they are encouraged to innovate through the various initiatives promoted by the DCSF, the Specialist Schools Trust and the National College for School Leadership. 4.2 However the many versions of the PGCE, the academic element of most ITT programmes, causes concern for many NASBTT members. In addition to the traditional (legacy), Professional and Post Graduate forms, there is also a variety of credit values being awarded by the universities that validate them. Similarly the requirements of the current PGCEs vary enormously in terms of the trainee study loads and writing demands. School-based providers often have the extra tension that it may be their local competitor for training allocations that validates their PGCE qualiﬁcation.

12 The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector 2007–08. 13 Ofsted reports in the period 2007–08. 14 Features singled out for praise were eVective management, clarity about roles and, signiﬁcantly, that the process ensures an evaluation of individual’s own practice in school and so improves overall performance. 15 TDA ITT Providers database 2008. 16 TDA (2008) Newly Qualiﬁed Teacher Survey: 5 Year analysis. 17 Ofsted Survey Report, Are HEIs and school-based training programmes preparing trainees to work with SEN? December 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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4.3 School-based Providers make a distinctive contribution to teacher training by engaging with an access issue, oVering an unrivalled breadth and depth of partnerships, managing ITT more cost eVectively and by maintaining rigorous quality assurance at a human scale. 4.3.1 NASBTT members are aware of socio-economic factors that may deter some otherwise excellent recruits to teaching via an HEI-centred route. Such factors are financial, home, responsibility and self-esteem factors. These applicants are more likely to perceive a school-based route to QTS as more aVordable and therefore more attainable. This may become a more significant factor as the current economic down-turn develops. By being local, SCITTs and EBITTs are perceived to oVer a more individual and personalised training, especially in the period between interview and course induction. As one school-based tutor expressed it “SCITTs do it with the trainees and not to them”. This pre-course personalised preparation is evident in many Ofsted reports on Grade 1 SCITTs. 4.3.2 Genuinely collaborative and small-scale partnerships underpin all aspects of the schools’ sector in the 21st century.The schools and Local Authorities cooperate to be proactive with and responsive to, pupils’ learning needs whereas, and understandably, HEIs tend to respond to students or trainee’s needs. An emerging success is the school-based Training Managers’ Networks whereby school-based ITT managers in the regions share best practice and enable each other to respond quickly to national initiatives and changes. 4.3.3 School-based training is particularly cost eYcient because it usually has full control over all of its funds and this allows them to forward plan with much greater certainty. Funds intended for ITT are less likely to be lost through “top slicing”. 4.3.4 Quality Assurance is also more aVordable because of location factors but also because the institutions and partnerships are generally small and therefore of a human scale. For instance, ITT staV development training can involve all the ITT tutors mentors together in one place at the same time, thereby improving by consistency of provision. Size also makes individual personnel and schools more accountable, with fewer boards, panels and committees to refer to. Draconian but essential decisions under-pinning the selection and de-selection of schools, are more richly informed by an immersion in that school community as opposed to solely responding to data. 4.4 Even if the school-based provision was less distinct from HEI-based provision than described then it is worth remembering that school-based and HEI-based training seem to be equal in quality of outcomes18 and therefore the 5–7% of provision that SCITTs and EBITTs oVer is no less important. 4.5 The current nature of partnership working between schools and SCITTs and EBITTs in the delivery of ITT is sustainable as it provides CPD for whole school workforce. 4.6 A recent Government report and a recent BERA paper, on HEI trainees’ retention in teaching after three years, shows a 40% retention. NASBTT evidence is that school-based training retention is better than 80%.19 Training in the locality, typical of school-based ITT applicants, may not lead to as mobile a workforce as national shortage areas might require, however it is more likely that such new entrants to the profession are better aware of the wider contextual factors about schools that often influence an early departure from teaching. 4.7 School-based training oVers development opportunities for the whole school workforce and not just those with centre-based responsibilities. Programme Managers and other leaders of school-based ITT programmes have gained significant development opportunities through the work of the TDA Improvement Team, the Training Managers’ Conferences, regional network workshops and the Matched Providers network; all of which have helped to give the smaller school-based training providers an on-going national perspective. Indeed such providers need to network and benchmark to get the Ofsted Grade 1s that they do! 4.8 The Masters in Teaching & learning (MTL) seems to oVer an excellent opportunity for ITT staV development, perhaps as future students but mostly as school-based coaches and specialists. This reminds us that school-based training is not entirely separated from Higher Education since most SCITTs are delivering an HE-validated PGCE and will deliver the MTL in partnership with HEIs. Of course schools already oVer a plethora of non-award bearing CPD courses to its teaching and support staV. 4.9 School-based ITT tutors are actively involved in research and this is evidenced in presentations to BERA and papers in a variety of academic journals.20 We expect the quality and quantity of such contributions to increase as school-based tutors’ confidence grows. 4.10 NASBTT is aware that the action research carried out by school-based trainees and their tutors is very specific to the contexts of their training schools because of the diVerent role that these schools have with ITT. The research may not be peer-reviewed nationally and be less generalisable; however it has meaning for the immediate stakeholders and links directly to improvements in pupils’ learning.

18 The Annual Report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector 2007–08. 19 Evidence from many SCITTs and EBITTs across England shows an even higher retention. 20 At one time this was HEI-generated and supported, however an increasing number of school-based ITT trainers are contributing to GTC’s “Research of the Month” and the DCSF’s “School’s Research News” to name but two of the many well-read sources of research evidence. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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5. CPD Provision 5.1 Current CPD provision for all partners in the delivery of improved pupils’ learning is clearly integral to and coherent with, school-based ITT programmes. Each informs the other. SCITT and EBITT school managers have a whole school community perspective and so manage resources and budgets to keep in line with and at the same pace as, schools’ development, enhance provision and reduce overlap; often releasing funds for novel projects. ITT spending and investment in staV and resources can be combined with CPD funds to support resourcing for rapid changes and pro-active strategies. Training can therefore involve a larger number of staV, beyond immediate CPD and ITT needs. 5.2 Head-teachers (employers) report a real sense of ownership during and after the ITT process. They frequently and positively refer to the impact of school-based training on their schools. The school-based training raises the schools’ proﬁles and this lifts institutional self-esteem and so performance. 5.3 NASBTT members are cautious about the appropriateness of introducing the MTL in the Induction (NQT) year. It is not so much the additional workload at an already busy time but that a Masters in Education should arise from a critical reﬂection on a substantial body of evidence arising from professional practice. 5.4 Schools can save a lot of money and make much more informed decisions about recruitment if they have “home-grown” teachers. Furthermore, whole-school and linked CPD and ITT programmes provide great recruiting opportunities as support staV and fringe participants are encouraged to enter the teaching profession via a familiar route.

6. Recommendations NASBTT recommends that those managing teacher education in England and Wales recognise: — the quality of ITT in the school-based training school partnerships, and — that “learning for all” is at the centre of school-based ITT. We are not distracted by other pressures. The whole school community is involved in ITT and all its spin-oVs and this is fed back into recruitment drives, emphases and strategies. Parents and the wider school staV see ITT in their context and are attracted to it. It may be local and small-scale but Ofsted, the TDA and validating HEIs all ensure that this form of ITT is rigorously quality assured. January 2009

Supplementary memorandum submitted by the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers The National Association of School Based Teacher Trainers represents over sixty of the providers of Initial Teacher Training through school based mainstream or employment based routes. Its members are very concerned with the proposals announced regarding a six month training course. Our experience of the Graduate Teacher Programme, which would already allow suitable applicants to complete training within six months, is that only a handful of trainees are successful in this. Those who are invariably have a profile of significant school experience prior to undertaking the training. A number hope to complete in less than three terms but find that the deep understanding of subject pedagogy and the demonstration of real competence in all the standards is more challenging than originally envisaged. Applications from high quality candidates: those with a burning desire to teach, a commitment to raising standards and a long held ambition to inspire and engage young people already show a healthy increase. Many in this category will be successful in changing careers, but experience shows that others, in thinking the teaching role is relatively straightforward, struggle with its unpredictability and the necessity to be able to move rapidly between high order thinking and more mundane activities. Integrating successfully into the collegiate, pragmatic and constantly evolving nature of classroom and staV room environments often proves very challenging. It is therefore unhealthy to allow potential applicants to believe that highly developed management and people skills gained in another workplace, together with excellent subject knowledge will accelerate the pace at which they acquire the skills to carry out the above. Successful teachers are both flexible and reflective and our members have noted that it takes time for individuals to adjust from a previously successful career into teaching, not least in being able to develop the sanguinity to be able to take advice and training from those with greater professional skills but less experience of life. Those who recognise that success in a previous profession is no guarantee of success often make the transition into teaching eVectively, though it almost always takes more than six months. This organisation supports the provision of a number of distinctive routes leading to the provision of high quality teachers in schools already accessible to individuals wishing to change careers. Having worked hard to develop and maintain quality within this provision we seek to be convinced that the proposals will not diminish our ability to develop the intellectual, pedagogical and personal skills excellent teaching requires. As school-based providers the recruitment and support of mentors would seem somewhat easier than for some university providers, principally because the schools with which we have links are fully supportive of a responsibility towards the sustainability of the profession as a whole. However, whilst the funding of Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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release time can be found, even if with diYculty, pressures remain because teachers still carry the responsibility for the progress of their students even when the actual teaching is covered by supply. Preparation, Planning and Assessment time, especially for primary teachers, means that a teacher mentoring two trainees for an hour each a week is away from class for a whole day. The impact is somewhat less in the secondary sector, where it is possible to timetable mentoring time more eVectively. Some school-based providers have successfully trialed “mini-secondments” of mentors, so that job-share arrangements remove their class responsibilities whilst working with trainees. This organisation would also see that the opportunities mentoring provides for professional development through performance management will be a rich source of mentors, currently under-utilised. We must expect that mentoring will be more of a professional development stepping stone, undertaken for a few years mid-career by a high number of individuals, who might initially be less experienced than those currently holding mentoring positions. The professional development programmes provided by ITT providers will therefore need to be personalised, and oVered at diVerentiated levels.

It seems essential that in recognising that all schools should have a responsibility for training the next generation, the time commitment of school staV is properly resourced, so that the work of “teaching schools” closely resembles that of teaching hospitals. Whilst the public seem to accept that training the next generation of doctors requires trainees to have properly resourced professional support and access to real patients, the same understanding does not always apply to schools. Some schools use concerns over maintaining pupil progress and SATs results as reasons not to engage with ITT. That Ofsted does not, within school inspections, routinely comment on a school’s commitment to ITT is a matter of great regret, as positive reporting on this would make the provision of quality experiences for trainees somewhat easier and contribute extensively to the sustainability of partnerships. March 2009

Memorandum submitted by the OYce for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) 1. Summary 1.1 The main points of Ofsted’s written evidence to this inquiry 1.1.1 There is wide ranging and published evidence from inspection about what constitutes good quality teaching, and how it can be measured. This is found in Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector’s Annual report and other publications.

1.1.2 The characteristics of good teachers are reﬂected in the current entry requirements for ITT, but are interpreted and applied diVerently by providers.

1.1.3 The growth in choice of training routes to qualiﬁed teacher status has helped to improve recruitment to secondary training programmes, but there remain challenges in the short and longer term in attracting good quality applicants in some secondary subject areas.

1.1.4 Minority ethnic groups and men in the primary sector are under-represented in initial teacher education, and current measures are not bringing about rapid improvement.

1.1.5 The vast majority of ITT provision is at least adequate, and that for the schools sector is often good or better. There are areas, however, where quality varies markedly between providers, and where improvements are needed to raise standards to those achieved by the best programmes. For primary trainees, this includes preparation to assess pupils’ phonic knowledge. For all trainees, the areas include preparing trainees to teach in schools in challenging circumstances, and to teach pupils with learning diYculties and disabilities.

1.1.6 In ITT for the further education system, trainees on work-based and adult and community programmes are the most disadvantaged in the quality and extent of their training.

1.1.7 The best providers use innovative, creative and diverse approaches with conﬁdence and success to improve training programmes and outcomes for trainees.

1.1.8 Most higher education led partnerships make a distinctive contribution to ITT, especially in terms of theory and educational research.

1.1.9 Only the best schools have established a coherent cycle of induction, training and professional development, and mechanisms for evaluating the impact and value for money of the training and development. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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2. Measuring Quality 2.1 The extent to which there is an evidence base for, and a shared sense of what makes for, good quality teaching 2.1.1 Ofsted has accumulated wide-ranging evidence from school inspections and inspections of initial teacher training about what constitutes good quality teaching. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector’s Annual Report, inspection reports and other publications have contributed significantly to the sharing of eVective practice and to providing benchmarks against which schools and other organisations can measure themselves. 2.1.2 EVective teaching is essential for eVective learning to take place and improved attainment depends upon it. There are some fundamentals that underpin eVective teaching. These have changed very little over the years, although good teachers might have gained some new tools to help with the delivery. EVective teachers have always used their knowledge to challenge and inspire children and young people, allowing them to deepen their own understanding and ability. 2.1.3 Major factors in good quality teaching include the extent to which the teacher: — has high expectations of what all pupils can achieve; — deploys their knowledge eVectively to make teaching clear, interesting and enjoyable; — makes eVective use of assessment for learning; — plans for individual needs; — shares clear lesson objectives; — varies the pace of the lesson to provide challenge and to match the acquisition of learning; — adopts eVective questioning styles; — uses varied strategies to engage and stimulate learners; — makes learning interesting and enjoyable; — provides clear direction and explanation and tackles pupils’ misunderstandings; — exploits opportunities to improve pupils’ basic skills in literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology; — contributes to the quality of pupils’ wider educational development, including personal well- being, and — checks and re-checks that learning is taking place for each individual. 2.1.4 In developing the framework for the inspections of initial teacher training from September 2008 onwards, Ofsted used inspection evidence and sought views from focus groups about the characteristics of those newly qualified teachers who are considered to be good teachers. The best new teachers bring an appetite for continued learning and development and some key attributes which enable them to make progress in the profession. These attributes include: — open-mindedness; — resilience; — self-organisation; — in-depth subject knowledge and an understanding of how to apply it; — the capacity to use prior experience to enrich the performance in the classroom; — skills of critical reflection; — an ability to “learn their way out of problems”; — willingness to take responsibility for and get the most out of continuous professional development; — willingness to seek advice when in diYculty, and — good generic skills of pedagogy. Discussions and evidence informed the Grade criteria for the inspections of initial teacher education 2008–11 (HMI 080128 published July 2008), and especially annexe 1—Grading trainees’ attainments (pages 27–37).

2.2 The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 2.2.1 Inspectors draw on range of evidence and measures when assessing teaching and learning and evaluating the quality of teaching. They include: — direct observation of teaching and learning in lessons, including talking with pupils about the learning that is taking place; — the outcomes for learners, the progress that they make and the standards attained by individuals and groups; Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— analysing samples of learners’ current and recent work; — analysing assessment records for all pupils including those relating to those pupils with learning diYculties and/or disabilities, including individual education plans, statements, annual reviews and transitional reviews; — tracking case studies of vulnerable children and young people, such as those with learning diYculties and disabilities, and children in care; — discussions with staV, learners and others; — eliciting views of stakeholders such as parents, and — analysing the school’s own records of teaching evaluations.

3. Entry into the Teaching Profession 3.1 The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in the current entry requirements for ITT 3.1.1 There is a range of academic and suitability criteria within the Secretary of State’s current entry requirements for ITT. Due regard is given to these requirements by providers in their selection and recruitment procedures. Almost all have satisfactory and often good or better procedures, but there are wide diVerences in the quality of intakes between providers of ITT and the extent to which trainees, at the start of training programmes, demonstrate characteristics of those likely to become good teachers. 3.1.2 To some degree, diVerences are attributable to the quality of recruitment procedures, and in particular, the weighting given to academic as opposed to other suitability criteria. For the very best providers, there has been a move to assessing candidates’ potential proficiency in the classroom as part of the interview process as well as careful consideration of academic qualifications. 3.1.3 Although Teach First is by no means unique in its recruitment of high calibre trainees, it maintains high standards. The attention to detail sets the recruitment processes apart from many, but by no means all, other providers. To underpin selection, Teach First consults with tutors, headteachers and those from industry to agree characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers. Competences are reviewed and revised annually, and application forms are designed to capture evidence against the chosen characteristics; for example, communication skills, initiative and creativity, leadership skills, problem solving skills, resilience and the ability to work in teams. The London-based scheme, inspected during 2006–07 was judged to be successful in recruiting highly motivated graduates who would not otherwise have considered teaching. Around a half of those who completed the two-year programme remained in teaching. (Rising to the challenge: a review of the Teach First initial teacher training programme; HMI 070170, published in January 2008)

3.2 The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 3.2.1 Ofsted does not have evidence on this. The inspection grades for each provider are reported to the Training and Development Agency for Schools and help determine funding categories and the allocation of training places, but Ofsted has no role beyond this. 3.2.2 For the most part, Ofsted’s evidence indicates that prospective trainees have a choice from a wide range of providers oVering good quality training provision. An exception is those trainees wishing to train to teach community languages who face challenges, including limited choice in the location of courses. (Every language matters; HMI 070030 published February 2008) 3.2.3 The strategies for securing enough new teachers equipped to meet the 14–19 curriculum areas and the strengthening of links with the initial training for the further education system are not yet suYciently clear.

3.3 Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualiﬁcations, skills and attributes to become good teachers 3.3.1 Recruitment for programmes of initial teacher training for primary schools remains buoyant, with providers having a wide level of choice about the applicants to accept onto courses. The early inspections of initial teacher training for secondary schools in the late 1990s took place against a background of declining applications, great diYculties for many providers in recruiting to target and many shortage subjects. The growth in the choice and diversity of routes open to those wishing to teach has had a major impact in attracting graduates into teaching and in ﬁlling available training places. Pre-ITT enhancement courses have had an impact in increasing recruitment to mathematics and science courses. Despite successes, there are still challenges ahead in attracting applicants for the shortage subjects, and most especially for teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics—the STEM subjects, though the economic situation is likely to lead to an increase in recruitment. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3.3.2 The graduate teacher programme, a route whereby schools train teachers on the job, has been particularly successful in recruiting good quality candidates into teaching, especially in secondary shortage subjects. The majority of trainees gain considerably from on the job training, and where employment is in highly eVective schools, the trainees benefit considerably from the support of a range of experienced teachers. 3.3.3 Nevertheless, as the report: An employment-based route into teaching 2003–06 (HMI 2664 published January 2007) indicates, the issue with some of these newer and less established routes to teaching qualifications is in the variability of quality across the wide range of providers. At the time of the inspection, about a third of these providers met the ITT requirements fully, and they were recommended for accreditation. For over a half of the providers, accreditation was only granted subject to specific conditions being met. Grounds for refusing accreditation were identified in 17 of the 107 providers that did not meet one or more of the requirements. The lack of systematic and structured subject training was found to be a major weakness in the secondary programmes, and major shortcomings were noted in the lessons of over one-sixth of secondary trainees observed as part of the inspection. The inspection of employment-based routes to qualified status for teaching in schools is a priority for Ofsted in the next two years to determine if there have been improvements to programmes.

3.4 The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 3.4.1 The diversity of trainees on ITT programmes has remained broadly stable over the recent years. Some groups are still under-represented in ITT, most especially minority ethnic groups and men wishing to teach in primary schools. There are examples of some providers which have successfully targeted these groups as part of their recruitment strategy.

3.5 The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings (especially with regards to working with LDD pupils and in schools in challenging circumstances) 3.5.1 By and large, existing ITT provision prepares trainees adequately for entry into the teaching profession. Trainees’ work and outcomes are more likely to be good or very good where providers have made a concentrated eVort to address all of the standards across centre-based and school-based training, and throughout the training year. 3.5.2 There are some key areas where further improvements are needed to enable all trainees to demonstrate the potential to be good teachers. (a) Trainees in all phases and in all subjects tend to do less well in assessing learning than they do in many other aspects. (b) As a result of well-focused training which takes account of the implications of the Rose Review, primary trainees often have a good knowledge and understanding of early reading. However, trainees are not always as well prepared to assess individual pupils’ phonic knowledge and skills, or to teach pupils to spell accurately. (Teacher trainees and phonics; HMI 070257, published June 2008) (c) Trainees’ competence depends very much on their experience in partnership schools, and trainees’ relative weaknesses often reflect the practice in the schools where they are placed. The Ofsted survey: How well new teachers are prepared to teach pupils with learning diYculties and disabilities (HMI 070223 published September 2008) found that, in preparing trainees to support children and young people with learning diYculties and disabilities, ITT was rarely inadequate but too much was satisfactory rather than good. Providers of postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) courses struggled most to ensure good-quality provision within the time available. The most eVective providers had a specific leader for the learning diYculties and/or disabilities element of the course. But, even here, there was a heavy reliance on school placement to provide most of the training. This worked well in schools where the overall provision for pupils with learning diYculties and/or disabilities was good, but less well where it was satisfactory or inadequate. Even the best providers could not compensate fully for weaker input from schools. (d) Not all providers take advantage of the many eVective schools working in challenging circumstances as potential placements for trainees. There are, however, notable exceptions across the country of providers focusing successfully on equipping trainees with the skills to work in such schools. The “Teach First” programme has been particularly successful in this respect. (e) For initial training for the further education system, it is trainees from work-based and adult and community learning settings that are the most disadvantaged in the quality and extent of their workplace support. This weakness persists despite £30 million of additional funding in 2007–08, which was targeted at employers to support continuing professional development and mentor support for trainees. In addition, trainees for the further education system receive good personal and academic support, but the methods used to monitor their progress and secure improvements are not developed suYciently. (The initial training of further education teachers; HMI 080243, published January 2009) Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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4. The Delivery of ITT 4.1 The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 4.1.1 There are a number of national initiatives, mostly funded and managed by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, which encourage innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT. Ofsted has carried out several survey inspections to judge the quality of programmes. For example, the inspection that evaluated the quality of initial teacher education to prepare trainees to implement the National Languages Strategy in primary schools by 2010, found that training courses are providing good quality training for future language specialists in primary schools. (Primary languages in initial teacher training; HMI 070031 and published January 2008) 4.1.2 A characteristic of outstanding providers is the extent to which they have found innovative solutions to long-standing problems; for example, in finding suYcient school placements for trainees on early years programmes; for programmes for shortage secondary subjects; and so trainees are confident in teaching children and young people with English as an additional language and/or with learning diYculties and/or disabilities. 4.1.3 Each year, one or two providers (x2%) tell us in their evaluation that they think Ofsted inspections serve only to stifle innovation, creativity and diversity. The framework for the inspections of initial teacher education from September 2008 onwards has responded to criticisms by the introduction of criteria which consider the extent to which systematic and/or creative and innovative approaches are used in responding to change and national priorities, to dealing with long-standing problems, bringing about improvement and assessing impact. (The framework for the inspection of initial teacher education Page 13: HMI 080129 published July 2008)

4.2 The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision. 4.2.1 Our inspection evidence indicates that there is considerable expertise within HEI-led partnerships, and most make a very good and distinctive contribution to ITT, especially in terms of theory and educational research. 4.2.2 In the early stages of the inspection of initial teacher training, higher education institution-led partnerships were of better quality than other routes to qualified teacher status. However, more recently, as reported in Ofsted Annual Reports for 2006–07 and 2007–08, there is very little diVerence in the judgements made about higher education institutions and school-centre training schemes. 4.2.3 Some higher education institutions have not always been suYciently focused on quality assuring provision for programmes where they act as the validating body. For example, half of higher education institutions managed the training for graduates on employment-based routes well. However, a significant minority did not manage the employment-based route as eVectively as other ITT routes, and in one in five the management was poor. (An employment-based route into teaching 2003–06; HMI 2664, published January 2007)

4.3 Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher educational institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 4.3.1 Partnership working between schools and higher education institutions has generally strengthened over the course of the inspection cycle which ended in August 2008. More schools are playing an active role in partnership strategic planning, monitoring, evaluation and review than was the case in the past. Some higher education institutions, however, are ﬁnding it increasingly diYcult to ﬁnd suYcient good quality school placements so that trainees can demonstrate achievement against the full set of standards. The best providers overcome diYculty through resourceful and innovative approaches such as carefully conceived paired placements.

4.4 The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in delivering ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 4.4.1 Some providers are notably better than others in providing training for school-based mentors and subject tutors. By the same token, some schools are reluctant to release staV to attend training activities oVered by the partnership. As a result, low attendance at mentor training events allied to weak provision for training school-based staV is a weakness in some providers.

4.5 The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 4.5.1 The role of educational research has improved for all providers over the course of the previous inspection cycle which ﬁnished in August 2008. Trainee, in particular, are increasingly engaged in valuable small-scale research projects that explore aspects of teaching and learning. Educational research in informing ITT provision remains strong in higher education institutions. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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5. CPD Provision 5.1 Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and headteachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 5.1.1 The best results occur where CPD is central to the schools’ improvement planning. Schools which integrate performance management, school self-review and development, and CPD into a coherent cycle of planning improve the quality of teaching and raise standards. 5.1.2 The fourth report by Ofsted into The deployment, training of the wider school workforce (HMI 070222, published October 2008) identified some improvements in the provision of professional development for staV. However, access to training continued to rely on the extent to which individual members of staV identified and requested professional development, and too often, this was narrowly viewed in terms of attending external courses or school-based in-service training. Very few schools visited had established a coherent cycle of induction, training and professional development linked to school self- evaluation and performance management for all staV. 5.1.3 The Ofsted report on How well new teachers are prepared to teach pupils with learning diYculties and disabilities (HMI 070223 published September 2008) identified a major weakness in the monitoring and the supporting of newly qualified teachers from recruitment to induction and beyond. At present, responsibility for monitoring and support rests with the provider until the trainees take up their first post. It then passes, with variable success, to the school and local authority.

5.2 The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. 5.2.1 The Ofsted report The logical chain: continuing professional development in eVective schools; HMI 2639, published July 2006 identiﬁed that: — schools had suYcient resources to provide the CPD which staV needed. Even those schools whose budget was limited had set aside funds for CPD, and all of them used local and national schemes to augment their resources for CPD; — few of the schools evaluated successfully the impact of CPD on the quality of teaching and on pupils’ achievement because they did not identify the intended outcomes clearly at the planning stage, and — schools did not have an eVective method for assessing the value for money of their CPD. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by Multiverse Summary — This response addresses the persistent underachievement of pupils particularly from minority ethnic groups, working class backgrounds and Traveller and Roma communities. — It emphasises that the concept of “good” quality teaching must include an understanding of and commitment to addressing diversity and underachievement. — It sets out the reasons for addressing the under-representation of teachers from Black and minority ethnic groups. — It highlights the valuable contribution made by higher education institutions in terms of research and the building of teaching capacity.

Background 1. Multiverse (funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools) is an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Professional Resource Network created to meet the challenge of raising the achievement of pupils from diverse backgrounds. It is a consortium of eight Initial Teacher Training institutions from across the country, with 3T Productions (subsidiary of Research Machines plc.) and Trentham Books, working with Local Education Authorities and community groups: — London Metropolitan University—Institute for Policy Studies in Education — Middlesex University — Northumbria University — University of Cumbria — University of Chichester — University of East London — University of Northampton — University of Sunderland Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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2. Multiverse was set up in 2003 in response to the Annual Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) survey conducted by the then Teacher Training Agency. The TTA survey in 2003 suggested that NQTs did not feel confident that Initial Teacher Training (ITT) had prepared them well for teaching learners from minority backgrounds (ME) and pupils with English as an additional language (EAL). However, the latest survey findings (2008) indicate that there has been a significant improvement in trainees’ assessment of their training on ME and EAL. 38% percent of primary NQTs gave good or very good ratings for the ME question compared with 29% in 2003. 34% gave very good or good ratings for EAL compared with 22% in 2003. Secondary NQTs responses in 2008 were slightly higher than primary NQTs—41% in relation to teaching learners from minority background, and 38% in relation to teaching learners with English as an additional language.

3. However compared to their evaluation of other aspects of ITT training, there is room for further improvement. This is borne out by hits on the Multiverse website. These indicate that on average 1,500 users from the educational community (including trainees, tutors and school teachers) access the website daily.

4. Through its website Multiverse supports student teachers, trainees and teacher educators in developing understanding, conﬁdence and knowledge with regard to teaching pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those with English as an additional language. Issues in relation to social class, religious diversity, Refugees and Asylum Seekers, and Travellers and Roma are systematically addressed. The website holds resources selected and produced by experts working in the ﬁeld of diversity, particularly from within the Multiverse Consortium. The resources range from ITT learning and teaching materials, research papers, government reports, articles from the media, case studies, and video clips. In January 2009 the website had 820 resources and 14,490 registered users (55% trainees, 22% tutors, 14% teachers).

Multiverse Response to the Select Committee Measuring quality — the extent to which there is an evidence for a shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; and

— the ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured

5. Judgements about what constitutes the characteristics of “good” quality teaching are complex and may diVer across ITT provider institutions. Training is guided by the TDA QTS Professional Standards.

6. Delivering diversity is a key aspect of how quality of teaching should be measured. Britain is a multiethnic society “made up of a diverse range of ethnicities, cultures, languages and religions, which is constantly evolving” (DfES 2007). Diversity is also an important aspect of Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003) and as part of this, trainees and teachers need to explore the range of pupils’ identities: personal, national, local and global.

7. One of the main issues in relation to quality of teaching is the extent to which teachers are able to raise pupils’ achievement, particularly of those from linguistically, socially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. Evidence from the DCSF Statistical First Release (2008) GCSE attainment results indicate that the following groups are still signiﬁcantly underachieving: Ethnic group GCSE results (5 grade A*–C: 5 A*–C inc English & Maths national average 63.5% in 2008) (National average 47.8%)

Black Caribbean 54% (up 4.9% from 2007) 35.9% Black African 60.3% (up 4.7% from 2007) 43.3% Bangladeshi 62.3% (up 3.5% from 2007) 44.5% Pakistani 58.2% (up 5.2% from 2007) 39.7%

8. It is also important to note that pupils in receipt of Free School Meals (FSM) have signiﬁcantly lower levels of achievement across all Key Stages and in GCSE examinations. The 2008 GCSE results indicate that 40% of pupils eligible for FSM gain 5 GCSE Grade A*–C (compared with 67% of non FSM pupils—a gap of 27%. However, when English and Mathematics are included, 23.5% of pupils eligible for FSM gain 5 GCSE Grade A*–C and 51.3% for non-FSM pupils.

9. The ﬁgures for pupils from Traveller and Roma backgrounds are even more stark, indicating that their examination performance is below the national average at all Key Stages. In particular, GCSE results revealed that only 15.7% of such pupils gained 5 grade A*–C GCSEs whilst only 6.8% attained 5 A*–C if English and Mathematics are included.

10. Given such long-standing and continuing underachievement of the groups highlighted above, a training curriculum addressing underachievement needs to be a central part of ITT and the qualiﬁcation standards that teachers are required to meet. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT 11. Perceptions of a “good” teacher vary according to ITT/school assessments, which may be conditioned by teacher background (eg ethnicity, social class, gender etc.). With regard to diversity, “good” teachers are those who: (i) have high expectations of all pupils regardless of their background; (ii) are willing and have the ability to challenge stereotyped notions of pupils and their ability, and (iii) are able to challenge issues relating to racism (and other forms of prejudice) in their classroom practice (including the curriculum) and the wider school. 12. “Good” teachers should also have an understanding of and commitment to implementing recent legislation and school duties including race equality, community cohesion and the well-being of pupils in schools. ITT institutions should evaluate trainees’ experience and commitment to the above prior to accepting them onto ITT courses.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualiﬁcations, skills and attributes to become good teachers 13. Teachers enter the workforce with diVerent values and life experiences, and this contributes to the diVerences in the way that inclusive professional practice is framed. There is a role for TDA in trying to ensure uniformity of approach across the diVerent training routes.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 14. It is important to recognise that the lack of a properly representational teacher workforce is a systemic issue. Increased opportunities for educational success in schools amongst those groups currently under- represented should encourage the development of a more diverse workforce. EVorts are needed to address the perceived low status of teaching amongst some minority ethnic groups and to encourage recruitment. 15. Multiverse recognises TDA eVorts to make the teaching profession more representative of the communities they teach, with the increased recruitment of Black and minority ethnic teachers. This currently stands at 11.8% (TDA 2008). However, there is evidence to suggest that some minority ethnic groups consider teaching a low status profession and therefore not worth entering (eg Cunningham and Hargreaves, 2007). Research has also shown that despite holding relevant qualiﬁcations some minority ethnic students were not entering teaching at the same rate as their White counterparts (Ross, 2002). Potential teachers from minority ethnic backgrounds are deterred from entering teaching owing to concerns about racism, delivering a Eurocentric curriculum, the absence of Black teachers as role models, low pay and lack of career progression (Dhingra and Dunkwu, 1995; Osler, 1997; Ross, 2002; Maylor et al., 2006; Cunningham and Hargreaves).

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances) 16. The annual NQT survey data indicates that ITT provision does not yet adequately prepare teachers for teaching pupils from diverse backgrounds and pupils with EAL. It is important to develop trainees’ understanding of the links between a range of educational issues. For instance, low attainment, special educational needs, behaviour management and social in/exclusion fall on a continuum rather than existing as separate entities. Speciﬁc reference to social class in the TDA Professional Standards for teachers would also signal the need to address what is a complex and important issue.

The Delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 17. ITT should be encouraged to develop more innovative approaches to the delivery of training. The Multiverse website provides examples of innovative practice in ITT.

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 18. Higher education institutions already make a distinctive contribution to ITT. They constitute a more diverse community of learners (eg ethnic, social, religious etc.). They thus have the ability to share experiences more widely and have greater access to resources and staV with research backgrounds, which encourages conceptual understanding of a broader spectrum of issues relating to teaching and learning. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 19. Education research has an essential role to play in developing student/trainee knowledge and informing practice in relation to pupils’ backgrounds and to the factors that aVect their learning. These links are valuable, as they can stimulate reﬂection and change practice. See, for example, the module of teacher trainees as researchers in the project undertaken for Multiverse, entitled Addressing working class underachievement—L. Gazeley and M. Dunne (December 2005). January 2009

References: Cunningham, M & Hargreaves, L (2007) Minority ethnic teachers’ professional experiences: evidence from the teacher status project. Research Report 853 (London: DfES). Dhingra, & Dunkwu, (1995) Why teaching is not for me: perception of Black pupils. In V.Showunmi & D. Constantine-Simms (Eds.) Teachers for the Future (Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books). Maylor, U, Ross, A, Rollock,N&Willams, K (2006) Black teachers in London, a report for the Mayor of London (London: GLA). Osler, A (1997) The Education and Careers of Black Teachers. (Buckingham: Open University Press). Ross, A (2002) A representative profession? Ethnic minority teachers. In M Johnson & J Hallgarten (Eds.) From Victims of Change to Agents of Change: The Future of the Teacher Profession? (London: IPPR).

Memorandum submitted by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) Teacher Training and Deaf Children 1. Summary — NDCS does not believe that initial teacher training allows teachers to understand the needs of deaf children in the classroom or to diVerentiate the curriculum. — NDCS is exploring whether teachers should have an automatic entitlement to teacher training when a deaf child enters their classroom, as part of a wider set of teacher’s entitlements.

2. Introduction 2.1 The National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) is the national charity dedicated to creating a world without barriers for deaf children and young people. We represent the interests and campaign for the rights of all deaf children and young people from birth until they reach independence. There are over 35,000 deaf children in the UK and three more are born every day. 2.2 Figures provided by DCSF show that in 2007: — 28% of deaf children failed to achieve Level 3 at Key Stage 2 English, compared to just 6% of all children. — Deaf children were 41% less likely to achieve ﬁve GCSEs, including English and Maths, at grades A* to C than all children. 2.3 Given that deafness is not a learning disability, NDCS believes that such an attainment gap is unacceptable and is campaigning for urgent Government action to close these gaps.

3. Key Concerns 3.1 A significant number of parents regularly contact NDCS with concerns that their child is not receiving his or her entitlement to appropriate education. In many cases, when NDCS investigate, it is found that frontline classroom teachers are trying their best in very diYcult circumstances, without the required support and advice to meet the pupil’s needs. 3.2 Over 80% of deaf children attend mainstream schools. Yet initial teacher training does not allow teachers to go into detail on deafness or how to identify it. NDCS has heard reports that many teachers currently spend one morning over a four year course looking at the needs of all children with special educational needs. This is despite Government figures showing that one in five of the school population is estimated to have a special educational need. 3.3 NDCS is particularly concerned that existing teacher training tends to treats children with special educational needs as a homogeneous group. This is clearly not a sensible approach given the diversity of needs within children with special educational needs. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3.4 There is a considerable amount of research which supports the need for better support for class teachers.21 We also know that, like pupils, teachers experience a postcode lottery in the support and advice they receive.22

4. Differentiation of the Curriculum 4.1 NDCS is concerned that little or no training or guidance is given to teachers or teaching assistants on how to ensure deaf children can access and fully beneﬁt from new curriculum initiatives. For example: (a) Although there is a much higher prevalence of mental health problems in deaf children, there was no training or guidance to teachers on ensuring deaf children could access the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) initiative in schools. NDCS has since published a programme Healthy Minds23 that will help teachers address the emotional health and wellbeing needs of deaf children. (b) The use of phonics as a means of teaching children literacy, with its focus on listening to the sound of words, is inappropriate for many deaf children (particularly those with a severe to profound loss). However, this is not reﬂected in the Government’s National Literacy Strategy, Letters and Sounds, and there is no guidance available for teachers on how to teach literacy to deaf children. NDCS is therefore working with the British Association of Teachers of the Deaf and other voluntary organisations to address this need. (c) In 2010, modern foreign languages will be introduced in primary schools. Given the right teaching support, many children with a hearing impairment can succeed and gain A-Levels in modern foreign languages. NDCS will therefore be looking to the Government to prepare guidance and training materials for primary school teachers and would be pleased to work with the DCSF to produce this to ensure deaf children can access modern foreign language teaching when it is introduced.

5. Teacher’s Entitlements 5.1 NDCS is exploring whether the Government should introduce teacher’s entitlements. At the same time an assessment of a child’s special educational needs is undertaken and an entitlement to support is agreed, the child’s teacher(s) should also be entitled to an assessment setting out the support they should receive to meet the child’s needs. This would include an entitlement to comprehensive teacher training. 5.2 For example, a newly qualified teacher who is told that a moderately to profoundly deaf child is about to join her/his class would be entitled to: (a) training on meeting the education needs of deaf children; (b) an audit of the classroom’s acoustics and improvements to the quality of the hearing environment; (c) access to hearing access technology with specialist support to ensure it is functioning eVectively; (d) access to specialist support to help diVerentiate and plan the curriculum, set targets and work with the pupil on specific programmes; (e) deaf awareness training for all pupils in the deaf child’s class or year group; (f) access to a trained teaching assistant to help the pupil access the curriculum, and (g) where a child uses sign language, access to a communication support worker with the appropriate qualification to ensure the teacher is secure in the knowledge that the lesson is being correctly interpreted.24 5.3 The example above relates to meeting the needs of deaf children but the principle could be extended to children with other types of special educational needs. It could cover the following elements: 1. A right to training. 2. A right to information. 3. A right to an appropriate curriculum. 4. A right to specialist support. 5. A right to an appropriate working environment.

21 For example see (i) J MacBeath, M Galton, A MacBeath, S Steward, C Page The Cost of Inclusion (May 2006). University of Cambridge (Faculty of Education) (ii) Hodkinson, A (2008 “Pre-service teacher training and special educational needs in England 1970–2008: is government learning the lessons of the past or is it experiencing a groundhog day?”, European Journal of Special Needs. (iii) Abbott, L (2007) Northern Ireland Special Educational Needs Coordinators creating inclusive environments: an epic struggle, European Journal of Special Needs. 22 See for example “At the heart of Inclusion” RNID. The DCSF has recently commissioned the NCB to investigate the variations in SEN provision between local authorities. 23 http://www.ndcs.org.uk/for the media/press releases/innovative.html 24 NDCS has come across cases where communication support workers (CSW) have a level 1 qualification supporting key stage 2 pupils even although the a CSW with level 1 qualification could struggle to interpret key stage 1 books. In other cases we have found CSWs in secondary schools working with key stage 4 pupils even although their level 2 qualification is not suYcient to be able to interpret a GCSE curriculum. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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6. Conclusion 6.1 NDCS would welcome the attention of the Select Committee on what level of training is needed by teachers to fully understand the needs of deaf children in their classroom. NDCS would particularly welcome a focus on training to teachers to allow for the diVerentiation of the curriculum when new curriculum initiatives are announced. 6.2 NDCS would also welcome the thoughts of the Select Committee on the proposal of teacher’s entitlements, as a means of ensuring that teachers are provided with suYcient training to meet the needs of deaf children and other children with special educational needs who enter their classroom, as well as an entitlement to a range of other support. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by Universities UK Universities UK is delighted to contribute to the Select Committee inquiry into teacher training. As the major representative body for the higher education sector, Universities UK has 133 members who are the executive heads of the universities in the UK. Universities UK works closely with policy makers and key stakeholders to advance the interests of universities and higher education.

Summary — Universities are key partners in the delivery of teacher training. 82% of all trainee teachers are enrolled in mainstream courses at Higher Education Institutions (HEI) at any one time.25 — University provision of teacher training is proven to be of high quality by successive Ofsted inspections with 92% of secondary initial teacher training (ITT) providers in higher education (HE) and 98% of primary providers in HE judged to be in the top two quality categories for 2008.26 — A key measure of quality teaching is how it impacts on learning and on raising attainment levels in schools. Universities have demonstrated their commitment to this in all aspects of provision from ITT through to continuing professional development (CPD) and educational research.27 — University education departments are committed to the importance of partnerships with schools and colleges as part of the development and delivery of training. These partnerships have been described as well established by Ofsted adding greatly to the coherence of courses.28 — Educational research and reflective practice has an important role in the provision of ITT at universities and are an important element of a teacher’s development and approach after qualification. — CPD at higher academic levels is proven to have a demonstrable and transformational impact on teachers’ classroom performance.29 — Universities are supportive of the new Masters in Teaching and Learning and are key partners in the development of this new qualification.

Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching 1. We believe that a key measure of quality teaching is how it impacts on learning and on raising attainment levels in schools. Universities make this a key focus of all aspects of provision from their relationships with schools through to educational research covering a broad spectrum of schools’ practice. This was demonstrated by evidence Universities UK (UUK) recently collated for the National Council for Educational Excellence (NCEE). As part of this evidence 46 HE providers of teacher education outlined details of CPD provision and educational research with a focus on raising attainment in school.30 For example: — At the University of Huddersﬁeld the MA in professional development has a focus on practice based “action research” which encourages participants to undertake a study directly related to pupil’s attainment. A typical dissertation investigated the eVectiveness of formative assessment strategies on the quality of writing at years 5 and 6 in the primary school. The study found that there had been a positive improvement in levels attained which could be partly attributed to the use of formative assessment strategies.

25 Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) data for the number of trainees in the system in 2006–07. 26 Ofsted/TDA data. 27 In evidence collated for the National Council for Educational Excellence (NCEE), UUK members provided examples of a breadth of work focussing on raising attainment. Several examples from this have been used throughout this submission. 28 Ofsted, 2007–08 annual report. 29 David Soulsby and David Swain, TTA commissioned report on the award-bearing INSET scheme, March 2003. 30 Evidence collated for the NCEE. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— The University of Manchester trains teachers at over 100 schools in the North West in mentoring and oVers school-based mentors numerous opportunities for continuing professional development. These are twilight sessions based at the university spread across the year and are intended to engage mentors in dialogues about initiatives to improve achievement such as personalised learning and target setting.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 2. University based teacher education is situated within the context of a strong reputation established by UK universities for maintaining the highest academic quality and standards. Quality and standards in UK universities are underpinned by a strong, internationally respected system based on six key features: — National tools that are used by all universities (the “Academic Infrastructure”); — Universities’ own systems for ensuring their standards are right and quality is maintained, such as procedures for the design and review of courses and the use of external examiners; — Independent external review of each university by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), resulting in published reports; —EVective engagement with students and employers, including professional, statutory and regulatory bodies, which helps to shape what universities do; — Mechanisms to support improvements in quality, for example by learning from the experience of others, sharing good practice and ways of supporting professionalism in teaching, and — Methods to address complaints.31 3. In addition to this, education departments are inspected by Ofsted (for work which is funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA)). UUK has been supportive of moves to align the work of the QAA and Ofsted in assessing education departments, and also of the new approach to inspection which has recently been developed by Ofsted to place greater emphasis on outcomes and the impact on schools. This approach includes: — A single inspection framework; — Inspection focused on risk, and — A focus on self-assessment, including the views of users. 4. Essentially, the move towards a lighter touch is demonstrative of the proven high quality of university provision resulting in the need for a new approach to diVerentiate between providers. For example: — In 2008, 85% of primary and 86% of secondary Newly Qualiﬁed Teachers (NQTs) rated the overall quality of the ITT they received as either “good” or “very good”;32 and — 92% of secondary ITT providers in HE and 98% of primary providers in HE judged were judged to be in the top two quality categories for 2008,33 this measure is used by the TDA to allocate places.

Entry into the Teaching Profession The appropriateness of the ways in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 5. Although admissions requirements are regulated for ITT it is important to understand admissions in the wider context which is the considerable care and eVort which universities put into professional and eVective admissions practice. 6. Universities have confidence in their admissions policies and practices and work hard to show that they are fair and transparent which is why they have responded proactively to considerable political interest in this following the Government’s White Paper on The future of higher education published in 2003. Since this time Universities have contributed to the independent review of admissions, Fair admissions to higher education, and in subsequent initiatives and programmes such as the Supporting Professionalism in Admissions Programme; and the Delivery Partnership (a HE sector led body leading on application process reforms).34 7. In addition, universities’ admissions policies for education courses operate within the confines of the Secretary of State’s requirements including that entrance to PGCE and other graduate programmes have a first degree or equivalent qualification and that entrants should have achieved GCSE standard in English, Mathematics, and for primary programmes, Science. 8. The number of training places by programme to be allocated each year by the TDA is set by the DCSF using its teacher supply model. Although the model takes into account factors such as pupil demographics and retirement we are concerned that it has seemed unable to cope with developments such as the impact

31 For more information see: Universities UK’s “Quality and Standards in UK universities: A guide to how the system works” (November 2008). 32 TDA, Results of the newly qualiﬁed teacher survey 2008. 33 Ofsted/TDA data. 34 For more information see: Universities UK, Admissions: the higher education sector’s plans for change, June 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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of high migration levels and births to migrant mothers. Based on the teacher supply model, the TDA has been reducing the number of ITT places allocated over recent years. Although we recognise the need to manage the number of teachers being trained, a key concern for university providers is the sustainability of provision in the longer term as numbers become more thinly spread in particular subject lines. 9. University providers of teacher training have, over the years, built up considerable expertise which will be diYcult to rebuild should the numbers of teachers needed increase once more. Indeed, future demographic projections show that the numbers are due to increase after 2009.35 This temporary dip in demand could be used as an opportunity to maintain the number of secondary teachers and reduce class sizes. This resource could potentially be targeted at schools operating in challenging circumstances. The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances. 10. As noted above, ITT provision in HE has been judged to be of high quality by NQTs and Ofsted inspections. Indeed, the 32,000 teachers who now enter the profession annually have been described by Ofsted as the best ever.36 The NQT survey data also reports positive results across a range of issues such as Every Child Matters, phonics and establishing good classroom behaviours in terms of their preparedness to teach.37 11. ITT programmes include issues relating to pupils with special educational needs and schools operating in more challenging circumstances. In addition, university education departments have developed specialised professional development to equip teachers during and after their induction year. In the evidence collated for the NCEE, universities provided a number of examples relating to this area: — Manchester Metropolitan University has worked with Abraham Moss High School in Manchester to accredit their whole school development in Citizenship. This school is in a challenging district and the University has worked in partnership with the professional development coordinator to support teachers’ access to courses, university facilities and tutorial support. — The teacher professional development oVered by the University of Northampton is primarily in the area of the university’s Centre for Special Needs Education and Research (CeSNER). These areas of teacher education are strongly focussed on raising the achievement of speciﬁc groups and therefore play a key role in the government initiatives to raise standards. 12. We consider that one potential obstacle to the preparedness of new teachers in schools in more challenging circumstances is the current restriction on students being placed in such schools as part of their training. We understand that there are important reasons for this but consider it worth looking into so long as appropriate safeguards are put in place to ensure that the student is properly supported.

The Delivery of ITT The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 13. Teacher training situated in a HE environment provides: — The setting to develop a wide knowledge base for professional practice; — An environment informed by evidence and research encouraging a diversity of approaches; — A critical and reflective approach to developing practice; — A professional network to support individuals in their development and share good practice from a broad range of sources including international; — The opportunity to learn from and develop knowledge across a wide range of other disciplines; — Significant emphasis on school partnerships and placements and a means to disseminate good practice through links with multiple schools, and — The ability to contribute to the development of education within a region with universities providing focus and leadership. 14. The current approach to ITT provision means that much of the content is determined by the Secretary of State’s course requirements and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) standards and the Ofsted inspection process. However, we welcome moves towards greater flexibility which will enable provision based in HE to make full use of the features outlined above.

35 Population projections by the OYce for National Statistics based on 2006 ﬁgures. 36 TDA, Strategic Plan 2008–13. 37 TDA, Results of the newly qualiﬁed teacher survey 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 15. Government policy over the past year has placed an emphasis on partnerships between universities and schools. Universities have positively engaged with this agenda, particularly in relation to Academies, Trusts and Diplomas. Education departments are often at the forefront of this engagement, with the relationship built up with schools through placements acting as a catalyst for forging links with schools and colleges in other ways. For example: — Birmingham City University has organised significant numbers of teachers into action research groups with the impact on learning as a prime focus. The groups are operated with partner organisations including schools, school consortia and Local Authorities. Examples of project themes include: improving boys’ motivation in Modern Foreign Languages and the impact of raising pupils’ self esteem on attainment. — Over the last ten years research based at the University of Cambridge has explored issues relating to the disengagement and underachievement of boys at school. This work has contributed significantly to evolving discussions about why underachievement and disengagement is more embedded in some schools than others. 16. University education departments are committed to the importance of partnerships as part of the development and delivery of training and the sharing of innovation and practice between schools and HE. This is demonstrated through praise from Ofsted that “collaboration, communication and relationships within partnerships are well established, adding greatly to the coherence of courses”.38 However, there are some issues about the long-term sustainability of these partnerships and ensuring suitable training placements for students. It is important to ensure that these activities are appropriately resourced and that universities are able to source the required number of places in schools that are able to provide high quality training experiences. 17. We consider that universities, schools and trainee teachers would benefit from more structured and strategic support. In recent evidence collated by UUK for the NCEE our members identified the following characteristics for successful partnerships with schools: — Strategic leadership: The most productive partnerships are formed when they meet multiple and complementary partner needs or have an explicit subject-focus/clearly expressed aims/outcomes. — Sustained engagement: Successful relationship-building occurs when relationships are built up over time in a strategic and sustained way and support the priorities of HEIs, schools and colleges.

The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 18. We consider the opportunity for trainees to develop in a research informed environment to be a key benefit of training provision based in HE. As the work of the Research Forum, chaired by Sir Graeme Davies, argued this environment characterises the intellectual development of the university student in their understanding of knowledge creation and application. This means that by the time they graduate, students are be able to: — Generate new knowledge themselves through critical enquiry and demonstrate it in an appropriate form; — Form their own judgements from evidence and challenge the judgements of others; — Synthesise and apply knowledge in various contexts, and — Approach performance and professional practice from a reflective, critical and evidenced base, rather than simply a competence one.39 19. Educational research incorporates the discipline based discovery research rewarded through the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) as well as practice based “action research” projects which involve practitioners investigating and evaluating their practice in the school environment in order to understand and improve it. Indeed, our members have provided evidence of a wide range of research projects providing a wealth of material on issues such as gender and educational attainment and leadership in areas of low achievement.40 20. In this context, we are pleased to note the recent positive findings of the RAE 2008 sub-panel report on education: — The quality of the research activity reported in the submissions was high and significantly improved from 2001;

38 Ofsted, 2007–08 annual report. 39 Research Forum advice to Ministers on the relationship between Research and Teaching in Institutions of Higher Education, June 2004. 40 Evidence collated for the NCEE as above. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— Across the Unit of Assessment (UOA), about 75% of the activity was judged as being of international standard, over 40% internationally excellent or better, and about 15% world class, and — The quality of the best government-sponsored and targeted research was excellent, both rigorous and eVective in informing policy.41 21. However, there are a number of challenges for the future sustainability of educational research which we would like to draw to the committee’s attention: — End of capacity building support: The Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) which has been funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and others including the Economic and Research Council (ESRC) since 1998, is due to reach its conclusion in 2009. The TLRP has aimed to enhance capacity for all forms of research on teaching and learning, and for research informed policy and practice. The RAE 2008 sub-panel report found clear evidence of success from this work but concluded that further development was needed to address the shortage of researchers with quantitative expertise and to support the relatively high proportion in education departments of staV without doctorates.42 — Demographic proﬁle of educational researchers: UUK has collated HESA data which shows that education departments have the highest proportion of full time academic staV aged 51 and over amongst all departments at UK HEIs and that this situation is likely to become increasingly unsustainable over time.43 We have previously worked to address this issue with the TDA through the development of a “new blood scheme” proposal to develop the practice based research capability of education departments by funding doctoral places at universities. Although these plans were deferred following an unsuccessful funding bid, the future sustainability of research staV in education departments remains an important issue to address. 22. We consider that training and development within universities is considerably enhanced by exposure to the latest educational research and would argue that further consideration is needed as to how this might be sustained in the future. The HEFCE Research Capability Fund may be one means for further capacity development post TLRP. The Capability Fund provides £22 million a year to support research in subject areas where the national research base is still developing and is currently not as strong as in more established subjects such as nursing and social work.

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 23. Universities are important partners in the continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers. As with the approach to partnership working we recognise the need for CPD to be matched closely to the needs of schools and individual teachers, and universities work flexibly with other organisations such as local authorities, the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) in order to achieve this. CPD/post-professional development (PPD) at higher academic levels is proven to have a demonstrable and transformational impact on teachers’ classroom performance as evidenced by the following reports: — The TDA PPD impact evaluation report:44 This report draws together findings about the impact of postgraduate professional development on practice in schools. The report finds an emerging consensus that PPD impacts in the following ways: (a) Changes in subject/process knowledge base of participants. (b) Changes in classroom practice of participants and/or the practice of colleagues. (c) Improved motivation of pupils. (d) Improved achievement of pupils. — The Ofsted “Making a diVerence” report:45 This report looks at the impact of award bearing in- service training on school improvement. Amongst the report’s many positive findings is that award-bearing INSET courses had supported participants in bringing about significant improvements to a number of areas in their schools, including: (a) Standards of pupils’ work. (b) Teaching. (c) Pupil assessment and target setting. (d) Curriculum planning.

41 RAE 2008 UOA 45 subject overview report. 42 RAE 2008 UOA 45 subject overview report. 43 Based on 2006–07 HESA data. 44 TDA, PPD impact evaluation report, March 2007. 45 Ofsted, Making a diVerence, the impact of award-bearing in-service training on school improvement, January 2004. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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24. In addition to the existing CPD opportunities which universities provide, UUK is supportive of the development of the new Masters in Teaching in Learning (MTL) and has contributed to its development which is currently being led by the TDA. In order to ensure the success of the MTL it is important that HE continues to be actively involved as co-deliverers of this qualiﬁcation so that: — it can ensure that the standards and status of the MTL are at the same level as other Masters programmes; — implementation takes account of previous experience of relationships between HE tutors and schools-based coaches and their research experience, and — the resource implications of the requirement for contact time in schools are properly accounted for. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute of Education Summary — Teachers are better trained and prepared than ever before both via initial teacher training (ITT) and continuing professional development (CPD). — HEIs have a crucial role in providing quality ITT and CPD for teachers. They have the experience, scale, partnerships, collaborations, infrastructure, reputation and intellectual rigour to lead ITT and CPD provision. — Fundamentally, HEIs engage in research activity which informs and enhances the quality of training and development for the teaching profession. — Newer, non-traditional, routes into teaching will be stronger by association with HEIs. — Further funding is needed to support non-traditional and mature entrants to teaching. — All schools should be required, via policy change, to fully engage in Initial Teacher Training partnerships in order to share the collective responsibility for the development of the profession. — School/HEI partnerships are very well placed to innovate but struggle to do so because TDA “Requirements for Teacher Training” are inﬂexible and constraining. — CPD for ITT staV (school based and in HEIs) should be further resourced and supported.

Submission 1. Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching 1.1 Ofsted and TDA data provides an evidence base for pupil attainment and teaching competence in schools, including newly qualiﬁed teachers (see TDA NQT annual survey and Ofsted reports on ITT providers and schools). Research outcomes in journals, conferences, books and government reports add substantially to this evidence base. We believe that there is a shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching—creative, knowledgeable, informed by new technology, engaging, well managed, pupil focused and individualised wherever possible. 1.2 NQTs are better trained and able to perform better than ever before (Chief HMI Report). This success has been achieved out of the schools/HEI ITT partnerships established in the early nineties and during a time when the volume of training has been signiﬁcantly expanded. (the vast majority of initial teacher training is now graded as “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted and this has improved in recent years.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 1.3 Teaching quality can be partly measured, by pupil attainment statistics as provided by test/ examination results. Observations and judgements of teachers by peers and external bodies such as Ofsted also provide valuable evidence of teaching quality and approach. Research in classrooms also plays a vital role in measuring, evaluating and sharing quality.

2. Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT 2.1 ITT entry requirements are rigorous and trainees have to demonstrate commitment, knowledge, suitability, professionalism and school experience before being admitted to teacher training routes. In shortage areas such as secondary maths and science, it remains very diYcult to attract suYcient trainees of such calibre Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 2.2 We believe the TDA system to be largely appropriate as subject/phase shortages and quality factors are key to the allocation of places to providers. However, we believe the favouring of denominational providers (eg Roman Catholic teacher training establishments) to be unjust and unsustainable in a multi- cultural society.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 2.3 Routes into teaching have diversified in recent years (GTP, Teach First, I-Teach) and these have created good opportunities in addition to traditional academic award-bearing routes such as B.Ed and PGCE. This strategy appears to have increased teacher recruitment, however, there remains a shortage of secondary maths and science teachers and male primary teachers. Further financial support for mature and non traditional entrants with relevant qualifications is a necessary investment in our view. 2.4 Where new, non traditional, routes have been successful some have been dependent on existing HE traditional provision—arguably they have appropriated partnerships, mentors and procedures developed and maintained by HE. We believe that without HEIs the system could lack a rationale to keep it operating eVectively. Some teachers trained via new “school based” routes, “don’t know what they don’t know”. If more teachers are trained through such school based routes this defecit could apply to a larger portion of the profession. We believe there is a danger of a self-perpetuating cycle of teacher ignorance if training is cut oV from the HEIs expertise, training experience and research which is not available to schools.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession; and 2.5 In our view, funding is not suYcient to attract and support non-traditional entrants, males and mature entrants to ITT, many of whom will be career changers with dependents and mortgages to maintain. 2.6 Access to ITT programmes is augmented through the provision of foundation degrees, booster programmes and longer conversion programmes thereby recruiting more and better prepared candidates into routes (e.g; Maths Enhancement course, Subject Knowledge Booster courses in English and science).

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances) 2.7 ITT provision better prepares teachers than ever before (TDA data and Chief HMI reports). However, some trainees have less experience of challenging schools and SEN pupils due to a lack of suitable school placements, especially in areas with large ITT activity. In our view, it is essential that all schools are required to fully engage (in proportion to their size) in ITT in order that the whole profession takes collective responsibility for teacher development. It seems absurd to us that, without a change in policy, schools can continue to be deemed “good” or “outstanding” by Ofsted yet have minimal or no involvement in initial teacher training.

3. The delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 3.1 We believe that innovation in ITT approaches is hampered by inﬂexible and extensive TDA “Requirements for Teacher Training” with frequent notes of “potential non-compliance” sent by the TDA to providers. Although training quality has improved, there is now very little variety between providers and anxiety over daring to innovate or “break the mould”. There is a fear of being penalised by a TDA/Ofsted inspection and standards regime which leaves little scope for creativity, except at the margins of the training experience. When providers have been supported to innovate by the TDA, some have quickly experienced critical scrutiny and “consultation” which serves as a quasi inspection. (UCET has minuted such provider feedback at its ITT committees).

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 3.2 We believe that teaching is not just a technical operation (“delivery”)—it is an art that demands critical reﬂection, deep subject knowledge (in the broadest sense), and a basis in research: all the natural domain of HE. 3.3 HEIs are able to organise high volume, high quality training and to bring suYcient numbers together in shortage areas to produce economically viable group sizes. Teacher education is the core business of HEIs and is the subject of strong focus. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3.4 HE plays a central role in the professionalisation of teacher education. It enables teachers to address the “bigger picture” in relation to learning, the child, schooling and education. 3.5 HE is well placed to lead, collaborate on and support innovations in teacher education at all levels. For example; universities support research networks and collaborative research in schools as professional development. 3.6 Currently, HEIs can sustain small areas of expertise that provide a strong foundation where curriculum areas are reinvigorated (eg: the social sciences) or introduced at scale for the first time (eg: primary MFL, Psychology, new vocational diplomas). 3.7 The broader context oVered by HEIs allows education to be set into its wider social justice agenda enabling them to support policy agendas such as Every Child Matters. Students can readily interact with colleagues in the wider children’s workforce and explore inter-profession agendas. For example; MMU encompasses the training of teaching assistants, school business managers, educational leadership, youth and community workers, careers guidance counsellors, early childhood practitioners and is in easy reach of health, psychology and social work trainees. Specialist access is also available to campus centres of excellence such as the Science Learning Centre North West and the Centre for Urban Education. 3.8 HEIs oVer both training and serving teachers the opportunity to gain internationally recognised graduate, post graduate and masters level qualifications. These qualifications are central to the professional status of teaching, which in turn is key to attracting high calibre candidates in search of a challenging career with positive social status. For example; our data shows that when we raise entry qualifications for ITT programmes, application numbers rise. 3.9 High quality candidates expect a thorough and rigorous experience that synthesises practical and intellectual training. We believe HEIs are experts in providing programmes that achieve this synthesis and produce more reflective and analytical teachers who are better equipped with the skills needed to continuously improve their own practice and drive their own professional development. 3.10 Retention and completion on HEI-led ITT programmes is very good and we believe this is due to rigorous recruitment and selection procedures (Ofsted), good programme design that supports student progression, careful management and support for the individual student experience and increasing the personalisation of programmes. Not least in this is the careful placement of students in a variety of complementary practice contexts. 3.11 In schools, the quality of subject mentoring at secondary level remains variable and subject feedback to trainees at primary level is often poor (Ofsted ITT reports). The quality of pedagogic training and subject knowledge development in HEIs is very strong (Ofsted). HEIs put substantial energies into subject mentor training to ameliorate this issue and much remains to be done to ensure the eVectiveness of subject teaching.

Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 3.12 HEI-School Partnerships are complex and have taken time and investment to develop. We believe that the compact between partners is sustainable in principle and practice and that the partnership approach is a vital source of energy, initiative and innovation in teacher education. On their own, either constituency is necessarily impoverished and less likely to succeed. In our view, the HEI-school partnership approach is well placed to meet the challenge a changing world presents to teachers and schools. The successes established to date can be built on and energised through improvements to the policy frameworks and resourcing that govern the arrangements and mission. 3.13 HEIs bring students together to learn from each other and oVer vital peer support during a challenging training experience. They are provided with access to learning technologies, high quality libraries, electronic information sources and individualised learning support. This is a vital underpinning and extension of their training experience. 3.14 We believe it should be a requirement on all schools to fully engage in teacher training partnerships and placements. It is unacceptable to us that some “good” schools can absolve themselves of responsibility for teacher training.

The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 3.16 Development of ITT staV in schools and HEIs is adequate but, in our view, must be further strengthened by better funded arrangements for in-service training. It is increasingly diYcult to aVord the release of teachers or tutors from their teaching duties in order to attend courses or ITT project activities. Maintaining an informed, innovative and energetic ITT workforce should be prioritised and better supported in ﬁnancial terms. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 3.17 We believe ITT training in HEIs is good because of the expertise and qualifications of its staV that have access to, and are often engaged in, the production of relevant educational research. Teaching and learning in HEIs is current and research-informed, providing preparation for future approaches rather than confining teachers to the replication of existing practice. For example; at MMU, researchers who also teach primary ITT, have been engaged in the significant Primary Review (Esmee Fairbairn Foundation) led by Professor Robin Alexander (2006–08) which generated several published reports, one being, “The impact of national reform: recent government initiatives in English primary education (Research Report 3/2— Dominic Wyse (Cambridge), Elaine McCreery and Harry Torrance MMU). 3.18 HEIs work closely with a wide range of funders, charities and social and industrial/business partners, levering additional funds into the national educational research and development eVort.

4. CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 4.1 HEIs invest signiﬁcant funds into the professional development of school based mentors and into the expertise and regular updating of their own staV. Ofsted recognises the impact of this investment on teacher development in its reports and inspection grades for initial teacher training in HEIs. 4.2 HEIs are providing enhanced professional development support for schools which support trainees. For example: at MMU via a dedicated Postgraduate Certiﬁcate in Mentoring, tutor support for school- based professional development, and, where viable, locating taught courses in schools for schools and school clusters.

4.3 The move to unitise HE provision in CPD programmes has opened up more ﬂuid pathways through professional training and development at all levels with participants learning together in cross-phase and inter-professional groupings. This lays the way for diVerent modes of study with learning provided when, where and how best suits participants. Credit accumulation transfer continues to allow candidates to build their proﬁle as and when they can and ensures their attainments are portable and can move with them.

4.4 We believe that CPD provision oVered in HEIs enhances teacher practice and provides a wider, more critical perspective on this. Participants are able to contribute to dissemination of ﬁndings and outcomes of CPD to others in the profession. 4.5 We believe HEIs CPD oVer for teachers is comprehensive and innovative. For example; at MMU supporting time for staV to work in targeted schools to support in-house CPD, support for integration between Secondary and PCET, consultancy and accreditation to diVerent schools and organisations, eg MA in Leadership and Management to prisons education service, customised support for city academies, extensive suites of SEN provision and programmes, partnership with research-active organisations, multiprofessional courses for teachers, therapists, health workers, social care professionals.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 4.6 TDA requires HEI Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) providers for teachers to measure impact. We gather evidence of impact from our students. In our view, further funding and work is needed on CPD spending in schools, how its value is measured and whether direct links can be made between CPD received and impact on teaching and learning quality. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by Dr John Oversby, Institute of Education, Reading University Abstract I provide clear research evidence for what makes a good teacher of science, and the limits of how much this is shared within an HEI/schools partnership. I refer to challenges in recruitment and retention of secondary science teachers, especially to the eVect of poor retention on ﬁnding suYcient good school placements. Radical methods of placing student teachers, followed by modiﬁed Induction Years, should be considered for the sciences, especially physics and chemistry. ITT delivery in HEIs is frequently commended by Ofsted, while school provision seems to be more variable. Personal development of Tutors in HEIs, and of teachers in schools working on pre-service courses, remains an area for development. More funding will be required. CPD provision in science education lags behind that of other subjects. Masters level courses are very much welcomed, especially in science education where it seems there are insuYcient opportunities. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Response Introduction 1. This response is made as an individual. Neither my employer, The University of Reading, nor my professional body, The Association for Science Education (ASE), has any responsibility for its content and may disagree with some or all of it. Nevertheless, my expertise derives from my extensive work as a secondary teacher of science and more recently as a teacher educator, and from my activity within the ASE. My contribution is highly focused on secondary science teacher education.

Measuring quality 2. Hattie (http://www.education.auckland.ac.nz/staV/j.hattie/) has conducted a meta-survey of what makes good teaching and what does not. The range of evidence he provides is extensive, quantitative, and subject to peer review, at the levels of individual papers and of the meta-survey. Alongside his review of quantitative studies are numerous qualitative studies, including those based in-depth observations and interviews on small samples. Despite calls for revealing their evidence base, Ofsted does not provide suYcient information to subject their judgments to peer-review, nor do they provide a scholarly justiﬁcation for their methods of assessing quality. Meta-studies of the qualitative kind are not so readily available. Teaching quality in practice is mainly based on observation. It is now commonplace to require teachers to teach as part of the selection procedure, although the criteria for observation and judgment of quality of those observed lessons are not made available to candidates. Schools rarely use lesson observation reports from other schools at interviews. However, the Chartered Science Teacher Registration Board, on which I sit, takes such lesson observation reports very seriously as evidence for good teaching. It seems that school selection procedures for new staV are not inspected and there is no requirement for a procedure review. Soares and Lock (eg in AB Soares, RJ Lock. 2007. Pre-service science teachers’ perceptions of written lesson appraisals: the impact of styles of mentoring, European Journal of Teacher Education, 30, 1, 75–90) provide strong evidence in their Gatsby project that lesson observations focus too much on classroom management, and this was supported at a meeting of 16 HEI science education tutors to discuss their ﬁndings. The TDA Standards provide an accepted framework, although it is too easy to use them in a mechanical way. The Standards relating to lesson planning seem to be given a lower priority than actual teaching in schools, from the evidence I have collected as Course Leader for PGCE/GTP Secondary Science at Reading for 16 years. The criteria for Chartered Science Teacher status, created by The Association for Science Education, in conjunction with The Science Council, include engaging with scholarship and its impact in the classroom, and professional development as major components. This is in contrast to the TDA Standards which only require more advanced teachers to use what the TDA terms the output of research, as unproblematic conclusions. The TDA Standards and Guidance appear as unproblematic, and are used as unproblematic by Ofsted in their inspections. 3. Further research work needs to be undertaken on the selection procedures for news staV in schools, and how they link with the TDA Standards. The extensive Ofsted database of lesson observations should be made available to researchers for determining the validity of assessments against good teaching criteria. The Chartered Science Teacher criteria should be used as a set of quality Standards against which comparisons can be made.

Entry into the teaching profession 4. Predictions of who might become a good teacher at the stage of selection for science pre-service courses are very diYcult, as demonstrated by the relatively high non-completion rates for secondary science courses. The TDA implicitly includes degree classification (it reports this data in positive terms for those with higher than an upper second honours degree) as a significant criterion. This view is not supported by research evidence, especially when the degree was achieved a long time ago. The TDA also then undermines this position by financially supporting subject Booster Courses in chemistry and in physics. There is an assumption by the TDA, observed at TDA recruitment fairs, that applicants from management in industry or commerce can easily transfer their management skills to teaching, so that they are recommended for the GTP route where scholarly is generally underplayed. Fortunately, at Reading, GTP students are required to complete the same scholarly course as PGCE students, although the requirement to produce scholarly assignments is reduced. The GTP route has attracted some applicants who would be poorly funded, such as students from Third Countries, but also attracts applicants who feel they do not need to engage intellectually with issues around teaching. The diVerent funding regime for GTP and PGCE pre-service students has a significant impact on course choice. However, the PGCE secondary science course at Reading maintains a healthy balance of mature and recent graduates. I would like to see all applicants have the same requirement to engage with scholarship, despite some resistance from schools. Diversity of applicants remains a challenge, despite diVerent routes. Not only are ethnic minorities under-represented, but the profession appears to remain white, middle class, and increasingly female. Providers can only make a modest contribution to redressing the balance, since the matter is firmly embedded in the community.

The delivery of ITT 5. ITT delivery in HEIs is frequently commended by Ofsted, while school provision seems to be more variable. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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6. In my view, the present system does not encourage innovation. Students spend too long in schools, restricting the time in the university. Increasing demands for topics to be dealt with in the university, a perennial TDA activity, simply encourages more transmissive and conforming sessions, and reduces time for subject pedagogy and critical reflection. HEIs make a massive and valuable contribution in the minority of time allocated, not least in providing a scholarly approach, providing balance on lesson preparation and assessment methods, which are treated well in some schools but not in others, and in making a substantial critical input to subject pedagogy. 7. Increasing TDA targets, the churn of science staYng in secondary schools, which leads to schools being unable to oVer places for training, and competition from other routes such as GTP have made pressure on suitable placements too great, and the system is, at best, creaking. In some placement schools, there is a strong partnership between the HEI and school in taking respected and complementary roles. In others, especially where Heads require a science department to take students mainly for prestige or only to help in recruitment without agreement of the science staV involved, schools require a lot of unfunded support from HEI staV to maintain the partnership. Such partnerships may well be unsustainable at their present level. At Reading, the role of educational research in science ITT provision is a strong feature. However, the great demand for invasive and detailed Quality Assurance procedures absorbs precious time for personal staV development, especially to engage in research, and saps energy. In science education, the need to support subject knowledge development, as well as provide subject pedagogy training is a challenge for HEI science methods programmes. In general, there is too little research on recruitment and retention in science education. The TDA places great weight on paired placements. In the competition between providers for suitable school places, and the competition from diVerent routes for places, paired placements appear to have become less common as schools take student teachers from diVerent providers and diVerent routes. The South East is an area of great demand for secondary science teachers (many schools do not have a graduate physicist), and retention is relatively poor, except in grammar and independent schools. This pushes the need for recruitment and training even higher, further straining the number of good school places available. The TDA and government need to tackle issues of retention more vigorously since poor rates of retention in schools, and particularly in urban schools, are a major contributor to problem school placement procedures. Although the TDA has made some modest proposals, these fail to address the severity of the challenges mentioned. Perhaps group placements in selected strong schools, with a reduced commitment for solo teaching, followed by a modified Induction Year, where an emphasis on increasing solo teaching in a relatively safer environment, would provide an alternative successful route, especially for physics and for chemistry. 8. Opportunity for personal development of ITT Tutors is at great risk from the frequently overwhelming workload. New Tutors are expected to manage an increasing pre-service workload (ITT, Enhancement and Booster courses), engage with CPD, supporting placements with problems, supporting the increasingly diverse range of students who have problems adapting to a school environment, and to engage in research. Induction is often on-the-job with too little formal support. Formal induction procedures at some universities are too often arranged just before undergraduate terms begin, but at a time when Tutors are in the throes of starting new PGCE/GTP courses. More funding is needed to employ extra staV, since the present funding model is too tight. If we need high quality teachers of science, we must pay more for their training. 9. Opportunity for personal development for those working in schools appears to be even less than those working in HEIs. While some schools provide very strong support for their staV to engage in scholarly work at Masters’ level, too many do not. Some of this is understandable in a time of staYng stress in science departments, such as failure to be able to appoint Heads of Science, reliance of one or more permanent supply staV to maintain teaching of all lessons, and reliance on temporary overseas-trained teachers to fill gaps in staYng. Too many science mentors increasingly find it diYcult or impossible to attend mentor training sessions. Leadership in promoting personal development at Masters’ level in issues concerned with science mentoring, not least arising from the government’s emphasis on making teaching a Masters-based profession. Again, more funding is required.

CPD provision 10. CPD provision in science education lags behind that of other subjects. CPD in generic topics such as mentoring is highly valuable but there specific needs for science teachers, such as science pedagogy. Pressure to teach across all sciences is making relentless demands on future and existing science teachers, sometimes forcing teachers to leave teaching. Teachers need to have space and support for this development as they start teaching. In schools, induction procedures too often focus too much on the generic as schools dealing with large new teacher intakes each year try to avoid too many teachers out of school at once. This seems to be a major cause of lack of confidence in science teaching from anecdotal evidence. Inevitably, finding such space and support will cost more in the short term. 11. I welcome the initiative to make teaching a Masters-based profession. At Reading, the PGCE course oVers opportunities for gaining Masters Credits during and after the course. However, the latter often fall by the wayside as new teachers become embroiled in finding their feet in schools, with consequent low completion rates of those who chose to carry on their study. The present system makes too little provision for formal teacher development for new teachers which is out of line with our European neighbours. By the Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:32 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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time the teacher is established in schools, the habit of study gained on their pre-service course has been lost. Enculturation into teaching as a survival activity then takes over for too many. A culture which sees teachers engaging from the start in CPD that supports and enhances their practice in school, but more importantly promotes a critical and innovative approach to teaching that makes for a more satisfying career, should be incentivised at all levels, from SMT downwards. Valid and reliable tracking of impact of CPD provision can not be achieved by simple end of course questionnaires that focus on simplistic questions. Substantial research funding must be made available if any serious attempt is to be made to investigate CPD impact across the wide range of provision that exists. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation was established in 1967 and in the last 20 years has awarded grants totalling more than £140 million to projects in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This submission presents evidence drawn from the range of work that Gatsby has funded and evaluated in Initial Teacher Training ( ITT) and Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Whilst the focus of much of this work has been STEM, we believe that the lessons we have learnt are more widely applicable to teachers across many subjects. In particular, Gatsby believes that: — The current training and professional development arrangements do not pay enough attention to the development and assessment of teachers’ subject knowledge and subject—specific pedagogy. A science teacher can only be eVective when fluent in the concepts of science and able to develop this fluency in learners. — The current training arrangements do not encourage teachers to make a long term commitment to professional development. We believe that more needs to be done to ensure that teachers understand the need for professional development and that this process starts with their initial training. The Government and its agencies need to recognise that if CPD is to have any impact in the classroom; teachers need to be given support and time to embed their learning in practice. We welcome the Committee’s decision to consider the complete spectrum of teacher development from training through to professional development. We believe that it is helpful to think in terms of continuity across a career span rather than exclusively related to stages such as ITT, the newly qualified teacher (NQT) years or CPD for experienced teachers.

Measuring quality 1. The Teacher EVectiveness Programme (TEEP) was set up in 2002 by Gatsby to develop a model of eVective teaching and learning drawn from all the available research and best practice. Further information on TEEP is included in appendix 1. 2. Most discussion of how to improve the quality of teaching seems to focus on pedagogy and how to stimulate engagement in learning. More priority needs to be given to what makes for good teaching within the context of subjects; there seems to be a lack of evidence about how one teaches particular concepts within the curriculum to achieve the maximum learning gains. 3. It is impossible to measure the quality of teaching without understanding the context in which it takes place. There are no indicators that can substitute for experienced professionals making a judgement about the quality of teaching on the basis of observation and additional information about student achievement. 4. Currently, there is a signiﬁcant amount of eVort put into measuring the quality of teaching. For example an individual’s teaching quality might be measured by the Senior Management Team, Heads of Department, Local Authority advisers and by Ofsted. These measurements take place against a range of criteria eg Ofsted rubrics and performance benchmarks, based on an assumption that the quality of teaching can be measured in a standardised way. It is far from clear that these measurements beneﬁt the teacher or ultimately the learner. The issue is to ensure that any measurement of teaching quality leads to action which improves the quality of teaching.

Entry into the teaching profession 5. We believe that the characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers are: — good subject knowledge and a passion for the subject; — they can relate well to young people but can also command their respect; — a sense of humour; — excellent communication skills; — creativity; Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— curiosity, and — resilience and independence of judgement and mind. 6. Obviously many of these characteristics would be diYcult to reflect in entry requirements and therefore much depends on the selection processes of providers. The high drop out rates during training and the early years of teaching suggest that the selection process is not working as eYciently as one would wish. 7. Figures suggest that there are too few recruits to Design and Technology (D&T) teaching with a strong engineering/technology background, with the result that the very aspects of D&T which are vital for future economic growth are not taught in schools. In their 2008 report on D&T Ofsted noted: The staYng survey data shows that within the D&T workforce the electronics/systems and control area has the least number of teachers (1,360 in a total workforce of nearly 20,000) who regard themselves as specialist in this area of the subject. This is insuYcient if pupils in all schools are to experience a design and technology curriculum that makes use of modern electronics technologies and, therefore, contributes to a STEM-related curriculum that draws on scientific and mathematical concepts and knowledge. This is similar to the way the science specialisms have been underplayed resulting in a situation where only 19% of science teachers are physicists. 8. We welcome the requirement that from this year all science teacher trainees will be required to declare a specialism as it will help to create a better spread of specialisms in science. However, we are concerned that there seem to be no instruments in place to ensure that students have suYcient subject knowledge within their declared specialism. Current arrangements for developing and assessing subject knowledge in ITT need to be strengthened to ensure an appropriate threshold is reached before QTS is awarded. 9. This weakness is perhaps best illustrated by the standards themselves. The NQT standard for subject knowledge is as follows: — Have a secure knowledge and understanding of their subjects/curriculum areas and related pedagogy to enable them to teach eVectively across the age and ability range for which they are trained. And that for the core standard: — Have a secure knowledge and understanding of their subjects/curriculum areas and related pedagogy including: the contribution that their subjects/curriculum areas can make to cross-curricular learning; and recent relevant developments. 10. In practice, the existing standards for awarding QTS are not being rigorously applied. NQTs are not meeting this standard, rather they are demonstrating the potential to achieve this standard In addition, the standards do not recognise the tremendous increase in subject knowledge that is required at the start of a teachers’ training, and this consequently underplays the need for subject-based professional development. 11. Gatsby is working with the National Network of Science Learning Centres, the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry to develop a diagnostic tool to be used as part of the Science as an Additional Specialism. We believe that such a tool could have a much broader role as a tool for identifying professional development needs for science teachers at the start of their careers. 12. We strongly welcome the Science and Innovation Investment Framework 2004–2014: Next Steps targets for specialist science and mathematics teachers in schools. On this latter point it is disappointing that the labour force data is still inadequate, making proper long term planning for recruitment impossible. We would refer the committee to the excellent 2007 Royal Society report The UK’s Science and Mathematics Teaching Workforce for a more detailed analysis of these issues. 13. Gatsby has worked with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) to develop the Physics Enhancement Courses (PEC) which have been very successful in attracting a new cohort of physics teachers. This project has shown that people without a full physics degree can successfully teach physics if they have adequate and appropriate training, mentorship and financial inducement. We welcome the introduction of the pilot scheme based on the PEC work to provide early years support for science and mathematics teachers. 14. Gatsby has also supported the Teach First programme which enables high quality graduates with a 1st or 2.1, to become eVective teachers, with only 6 weeks of well-organised, focused and purposeful ITT. 15. We are currently working with the TDA, DCSF, MoD and the OU to explore a route into teaching for individuals leaving the armed forces with technical experience who wish to train as physics teachers. It is anticipated that these student would bring HND qualifications in engineering subjects into their degree through credit transfer. The OU is developing a two year course incorporating their existing PGCE provision that would provide a flexible, distance-learning, undergraduate route to a BSc with recommendation for QTS. 16. The increasing emphasis on work-related learning as part of the 14–19 diplomas suggests that more may need to be done to attract career changers, particularly those with relevant employment experience, into the classroom. 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17. We have found it diYcult to source information on the subject/disciplines of staV working in the learning and skills sector. We hope that the Committee will consider the impact of Qualified Teaching Learning and Skills’ (QTLS) on the sector and whether there are lessons that might be more widely applicable. 18. As has been stated above, insuYcient attention is currently paid to the development of subject knowledge during teacher training. This is a particular issue for science and D&T teachers who are expected to teach aspects of the subject where they have little relevant prior experience. For example, a teacher with a biology degree who may not have studied physics beyond the age of 16 is likely to have to teach physics at KS3 and often KS4. 19. Research by Gatsby shows that science teachers often lack confidence at the start of their ITT to teach practical skills outside their areas of expertise. Whilst teacher training increases their levels of confidence, qualified teachers still have significant gaps in their ability to manage practical work in the classroom. 20. Gatsby funded a University of Birmingham project to support young teachers in the school-based phases of their initial training, especially in the teaching and learning of physical science. As a result of this work it became clear that: firstly, subject knowledge development is not seen as an issue by school based induction tutors and secondly, that NQTs do not routinely get, or ask for, explicit support in this area. The latter point is at first sight surprising, but, when asked why, NQTs expressed a fear of being thought incompetent by the person who would assess them if they were to show ignorance in the subject knowledge area. Equally important, however, is the fact that induction tutors expect science NQTs to be capable, in terms of their subject knowledge, of teaching all of KS3 and certainly most of KS4 National Curriculum science on arrival. This expectation was higher if the induction tutor was a non-scientist, but even science induction tutors had unreasonably high expectations of the confidence and competence of NQTs outside their main subject specialism. 21. These findings suggest that more needs to be done to support the development of subject knowledge during training and the early stages of teaching. The Birmingham project model achieved this by providing mentor support for teachers while they were in their NQT year. 22. Evidence from the TEEP programme suggests that more could be done to prepare trainee teachers for working in challenging schools. In particular, the following were identified as priority areas for preparatory training: — classroom management, especially how to deal with very challenging behaviour; — how to manage classrooms with many diVerent ethnic backgrounds and home languages; — how to teach eVectively when the majority of students have severe literacy diYculties; —eVective use of ICT.

The delivery of ITT 23. In 2005–06 the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme provided enhanced training for a selected group of 50 science PGCE students. In particular, it aimed to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of the physical sciences and to enable students to develop confidence teaching outside their main subject specialism. The evaluation of the programme found: (a) Students felt that they were better prepared, mainly because they were better resourced and had been exposed to more teaching ideas and techniques. However, some still felt very apprehensive about NQT year, especially those who felt their subject knowledge was weak in some areas. (b) The PGCE tutors involved would have liked to integrate elements from the programme into their PGCE course, but felt that the course was so constrained that this was not possible. Issues about subject knowledge and the lack of time on PGCE courses have been recurring themes for the teacher training work that Gatsby has undertaken. 24. Gatsby has supported and evaluated a number of innovative approaches to ITT. This suggests that innovation is possible within the current system but it is unclear that it will take place without additional financial support. 25. The almost continual change in the education landscape has significant implications for ITT. One would hope that government priorities would be reflected in the experiences of trainee teachers. However, as has been identified above, the time available for initial training makes this unrealistic. For example, there is a push to increase out-of-classroom learning, but recent research by the University of Birmingham highlights significant shortcomings in the opportunities for trainee science teachers to gain experience in this area during their PGCE. 26. Gatsby believes that HEIs should continue to play a significant role in ITT. There are a number of important benefits that accrue from ensuring their continued participation in the training of teachers. — The academic environment aVorded by HEIs ensures that trainee teachers develop a more reflective approach that means they will be more open to trying diVerent approaches in the classroom and better at evaluating practice within their own schools. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— The relationship between HEIs and schools developed through ITT is also important in ensuring that research carried out in the university has some linkage with current classroom practice. — HEIs provide a physical space where trainee teachers can meet other trainees on a regular basis for a prolonged period of time resulting in the development of a very important student support network that provides peer support well beyond the PGCE years. We believe that this has a significant impact on retention. — HEIs are able to co-ordinate schools partnerships, thereby providing PGCE students with the opportunity to experience in some capacity a range of diVerent schools; this helps students to develop insights into the type of school where they might “fit in” ahead of applying for first job— again important for retention. 27. We understand that it can be diYcult to maintain the balance of quantity and quality in the relationships between HEIs and placement schools. This is a very significant problem in a system where the school now plays such a critical yet under examined role in the training of teachers. Further investigation is merited to explore the role of schools in teacher training and how this can be developed.

CPD provision 28. Gatsby CPD programmes and projects have variously included: increasing science and mathematics teachers confidence by enhancing their subject knowledge; helping teachers to develop specific skills in teaching particular topics and documenting their progress through portfolios; updating teachers on cutting- edge science; enabling further education engineering lecturers to gain recent and relevant experience in industry and providing funds for individual teachers to develop their own ideas on activities to improve learning. 29. The following have been identified by independent evaluators of these projects as the ingredients for successful CPD: (a) There is no substitute for direct personal experiential learning. (b) In-school training can be cheaper than attendance at externally run courses but senior management has to budget for time for the in-school activities. (c) Where the unit of enhancement is the department, rather than individual teachers, sustainable improvements to school practice can be achieved. (d) Rehearsing novel learning schemes with colleagues as critical friends can pay handsome dividends in eVecting changed classroom, workshop and laboratory practice. (e) Training which is structured to allow time for the teacher can try out new approaches in the classroom and document the impact, increases the eVectiveness of CPD. (f) CPD through the compilation of portfolios of evidence brings about lasting change to teachers’ practice. Such change requires documenting, revisiting and re-evaluating ideas of accomplished practice. (g) Interventions will only be eVective if teachers understand the theoretical underpinning of the intervention. (h) The transfer of improved practice between institutions is diYcult to achieve where others have not had the same direct experiential professional development. (i) CPD will not result in sustained change if it does not fit the demands on teachers caused by the examinations, the physical spaces and resources with which teachers work and the expectations of pupils and their parents. (j) Any CPD activity must ensure that teachers are treated as competent and capable professionals. 30. Our work suggests that the definition of CPD needs to be much wider than the current very narrow definition understood by most teachers: something that only happens oV site on a day or half day. CPD includes mentoring and coaching, peer work, reading, researching, observing colleagues and discussing their practice, short courses, workshops, long courses, accredited courses and within-school action research. 31. Recent research from the University of Cambridge has found that, in the early years of teaching, teacher-learning focuses mainly on practical knowledge in informal school-based settings through dialogue with colleagues and peers. Formal planned knowledge is mainly encountered through whole-school “training” days. These address whole-school development issues in response to externally imposed policy. It is assumed that new teachers are trained following pre-service courses and are largely left to deal with issues on their own in their classrooms. Many new teachers struggle, feel undermined and consequently leave the profession. CPD needs to focus more on the development needs of individual teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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32. We hope that the Masters in Teaching and Learning will provide a signiﬁcant encouragement for individualised professional development and in particular will encourage the development of subject knowledge and pedagogy in the early years of teaching. However, it must be recognised that the since the MTL is a masters qualiﬁcation it is not an appropriate vehicle for developing some of the core competencies, such as classroom management, that teachers need to survive and succeed in the classroom. February 2009

APPENDIX 1 TEEP TEEP currently trains over 600 teachers per year in the 5 day programme, and is currently piloting a whole school training model. The diVerent elements of the TEEP programme are illustrated and described below:

EF FE CT FOR L IV MENT EARN E SS IN L E G E SS A A N E R C B O E PREPARE FOR L H L A A G LEARNING V N AGREE LEARNING B I O I O N R R U OUTCOMES A A T R

E I S L V E R

O L

F REVIEW E

N N

G I

INFORMATION

PRESENT NEW PRESENT

APPLY TO APPLY I

V DEMONSTRATE E

A F F

H CONSTUCT E E

G B

MEANING T

I R

S E

A L

E T A

R V

L T

C C

C A

F F E

EVective Learning Behaviours TEEP explores active and eVective learning behaviours in the areas of collaborating, thinking and metacognition, and communicating. We look at ways to help students construct meaning in their learning, monitor their own progress and reﬂect on the whole process.

EVective Teacher Behaviours There is a wealth of research on this topic, and the TEEP programme draws on this to summarise teacher eVectiveness under four headings: — Classroom climate. — Classroom management. — Whole class interactive teaching. — Variety of teaching and learning styles. EVective teacher behaviours underpin the TEEP model—it is designed to support teachers in developing and applying the behaviours in the classroom.

Assessment for learning The TEEP model recognises that assessment is an important tool in the learning process. As the term Assessment for Learning implies, any assessment should lead to improved learning outcomes for students. The TEEP model explores strategies and techniques that support teachers and students to give and receive quality feedback, use assessment in a purposeful and on-going way, supports a positive approach to learning and makes sense to the Learner. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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EVective use of ICT Our students are growing up in a world that increasingly uses ICT to communicate knowledge, ideas and information. The digital world is their present and their future. Teachers need to be constantly seeking opportunities to use ICT to reﬂect real world examples that will enhance student learning. The use of a range of technologies like cameras, game consoles, mp3 players, mobile phones, computers, and electronic white— boards can be used by students and teachers to enhance teaching and learning.

Thinking for learning Thinking is a process that invites the learner to make sense of the information at hand. It is the way to understanding. The TEEP model explores strategies and techniques, to support and develop higher order thinking in order to deepen understanding and enrich student learning.

Accelerated learning Accelerated learning is the term that the TEEP model uses to describe the techniques and strategies that we use to actively engage learners in learning. It is based on research of brain function, student motivation and multiple intelligences and provides a platform for life-long learning by promoting the importance of understanding how we learn as much as what we learn.

Collaborative Learning Collaborative learning is an approach to teaching and learning that involves groups of students working and learning together to complete a task, solve a problem or create a product. “It is based on the idea that learning is a naturally social process during which participants talk amongst themselves. It is through the talk that the learning occurs.” Gerlach 1994

Prepare for learning Teachers will strategically work with their students to develop a climate that is conducive to learning. It will include consideration of three main areas: — The physical environment. — The social/emotional environment. — The intellectual environment.

Agree learning Outcomes Teachers explicitly share the purpose of the lesson/s with their students so that the students are in no doubt as to what is expected of them during the lesson. The teacher will: — Make the content, skills and thinking explicit. — State clearly what the students will have learned by the end of the lesson. — Share the criteria against which the learning will be assessed.

Introduce/Present New Information Students will be presented with or introduced to the new information that they are required work with. Teachers need to consider what will be the best way to present the information so that it provides for maximum inclusion of the students.

Construct meaning Students are given the time and opportunity to develop understanding of the new information and to practice using their developing skills. The students are actively engaged in exploring the content. At this time it would be common for them to be working in groups, talking with each other about, their work quite often making errors but most of all working towards building a personal understanding what they have been presented with.

Apply to demonstrate Students are participating in a task or tasks that will allow them to demonstrate their developing understanding of the content that was presented. During this time teachers and students may be involved in assessing and evaluating the outcomes of the students’ learning. Over time there should be a variety of techniques and methods used to determine the levels of achievement Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Review Reviewing is a critical element in the process of teaching and learning as it is at this point that teachers can challenge the students to make their learning explicit. Although Review is the last of the elements of the cycle to be described, it should not be seen as coming only at the end of a lesson. It is useful to include diVerent review opportunities throughout every lesson so that teachers and students can identify challenges and supports, and strengths and weaknesses. Review is a signiﬁcant part of developing metacognitive awareness.

Memorandum submitted by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) is a DCSF funded organisation which is charged with the task of providing eVective strategic leadership for mathematics speciﬁc CPD. As such it aims to raise the professional status of all those engaged in the teaching of mathematics so that the mathematical potential of learners will be fully realised. Our response to this inquiry is therefore focused around our knowledge of the mathematics related needs of teachers emerging from Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and our understanding of what constitutes eVective mathematics CPD for serving teachers. In responding to the Inquiry, we have focused on the parts of the questions which directly relate to our remit and have indicated these in bold. In summary, the NCETM suggests that: — There is clear evidence of what constitutes eVective teaching of mathematics and that assessments of the quality of teaching can be made against this. However this is not widely understood by non- specialist teachers or senior leaders in schools. — All student teachers who will teach mathematics should develop a deep understanding of the subject and its related pedagogy at a level that is at least consistent with the age of the pupils that they will be teaching. — It is unrealistic to expect that students will be able to develop the subject knowledge and pedagogical skills to equip them for teaching a broad range of pupils during their ITT and hence they need an entitlement and expectation of mathematics-speciﬁc CPD throughout their careers.

Measuring Quality — the extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching, and — the ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. 1. There is substantial evidence of what constitutes eVective mathematics teaching, which includes the Cockcroft report Mathematics Counts (1982), A Study EVective Teachers of Numeracy (1997), a review led by the NCETM Mathematics Matters (2008), Ofsted’s report Understanding the Score (2008). Together these reports have identiﬁed the following characteristics of eVective mathematics teaching: — Builds on the knowledge learners already have. — Exposes and discusses common misconceptions and other surprising phenomena. — Uses higher-order questions. — Makes appropriate use of whole class interactive teaching, individual work and cooperative small group work. — Encourages reasoning rather than “answer getting”. — Uses rich, collaborative tasks. — Creates connections between topics both within and beyond mathematics and with the real world, in particular drawing out connections between diVerent representations of mathematics (eg graphical, numerical, algebraic). — Uses resources, including technology, in creative and appropriate ways. — Confronts diYculties rather than seeks to avoid or pre-empt them. — Develops mathematical language through communicative activities. — Sets high expectations for pupils in mathematical challenge, achievement and enjoyment. 2. These principles of eVective teaching are widely accepted by teachers who have specialised in mathematics teaching and learning in their ITT or later in their career. There is however a gap between this recognition and acceptance and what happens in practice—given numerous classroom constraints. Based on research and other evidence the NCETM suggests that in order for these principles to be applied in practice, teachers must have: Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— good mathematical subject knowledge, including a developed understanding of the links and connections within the subject; — an understanding and knowledge of eVective mathematics speciﬁc pedagogy, and — the skills to embed subject knowledge and pedagogy in practice. 3. The principles for eVective mathematics teaching are less well known to the many non-specialist teachers of mathematics, including many primary teachers. 4. Ofsted provides very clear, appropriate and accessible guidance for measuring the quality of teaching generally and speciﬁcally for mathematics in Understanding the Score.

Entry into the Teaching Profession — the characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT; — the appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level; — whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers; — the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession, and — the extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances). 5. The NCETM recognises that the essential characteristics of good teachers of all subjects are enthusiasm for the subjects that they are teaching, personal aptitude in the subject at an appropriate level and the ability to communicate eVectively with students with diVering aspirations and competences. In the particular case of mathematics, many teachers are unable to demonstrate all of these characteristics: the Ofsted report Understanding the Score suggests that in secondary schools there is often a weakness in communicating mathematical ideas eVectively, while primary school teachers often have gaps in their mathematics subject knowledge. 6. The large number of routes into teaching appears to be eVective in attracting teachers into the profession. However, the NCETM has concerns that on school-based routes where there is only a short period of engagement with HEI provision, student teachers have insuYcient opportunities to explore eVective mathematics pedagogy or to deepen their own subject knowledge. This is a particular issue for primary trainees who arrive with the minimum GCSE grade C level of qualification in mathematics. We applaud the recommendations of the 2008 Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early years Settings and Priimary (The Williams Mathematics Review) to raise the bar of entry level to Grade C in the proposed two GCSEs in mathematics and also to put in place one mathematics specialist in every primary school. 7. Limited available time for in depth study of mathematics and mathematics pedagogy during ITT for teachers who will teach the subject at some level is common to the majority of courses on oVer. In most cases it would be unrealistic to expect additional provision. It is important that teachers recognise their ITT as the start of a career-long CPD path which should, if they teach mathematics, include opportunities to develop their personal and pedagogical understanding of the subject. In particular teachers are likely to need additional subject knowledge development to enable them to teach “A” level mathematics, more in-depth study of how children learn mathematics to enable them to support children with Special Educational Needs or who are particularly gifted in the subject, the flexibility to recognise and use opportunities for developing mathematical thinking when working with very young children, or an understanding of adult learning when teaching Skills for Life qualifications. 8. There are related issues in further education, where there is little evidence of subject specific teaching and assessment in ITT for QTLS, unless the trainee is aiming to teach Skills for Life qualifications, in which case, there are specific Mathematics (numeracy) courses.

The Delivery of ITT — the extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT; — the role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision; — whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable; Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— the adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings, and — the role of educational research in informing ITT provision. 9. The NCETM values opportunities to work in partnership with ITT providers as this builds trainee teachers’ appreciation of the need, and the opportunities available for engaging in continuing professional development as they begin their careers. In many ITT institutions future teachers of mathematics are introduced to the NCETM web-based tools that enable them to identify their subject-speciﬁc and pedagogical needs and can support them in locating appropriate CPD provision to meet these needs. These have been made available to all ITT institutions, and a number of ITT colleagues have supported their development.

CPD Provision — whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent, and — the adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. 10. The need to “support, sustain and enhance current teachers of mathematics through CPD and other teaching and learning resources” has been emphasised in three ACME reports.46 In addition this was noted in the 2004 Smith Report on post-14 mathematics education Making Mathematics Count which led to the establishment of the NCETM. Indeed the then DfES responded to the Smith report as follows:

Necessary components of eVective CPD For all teachers, at every stage of their career, there are three aspects of continuing professional development (CPD) — developing a depth of personal subject knowledge to underpin teaching and learning — enhancing their repertoire of subject specific teaching methods and pedagogy — applying general strategies for teaching and learning All three aspects contribute to all subjects but the need for them varies across disciplines. Research shows that for mathematics in particular the subject specific elements are critical in raising levels of pupils’ interest and attainment. Similarly the Williams Mathematics Review noted the limited opportunity and willingness for primary teachers to engage in mathematics CPD and recommended that a programme should be developed in order to ensure that every primary school has at least one “Mathematics Specialist” teacher with the ability to support the development of all teachers within the school. While this will be a large-scale and well-coordinated programme, all teachers will continue to have CPD needs which need to be addressed in a more systematic way. The NCETM agrees with the view of both of these reports that all teachers should be expected and enabled to engage in CPD throughout their careers, as is the case in other professions, in order to maintain a “license to practice”, and commends the developments in the FE sector where teachers are required to undertake a minimum of 30 hours CPD in order to maintain their QTLS status. 11. The NCETM takes the view that ITT cannot fully prepare students for all of the tasks that they will undertake during their teaching career. Consequently it is important that all teachers have opportunities to engage with high-quality CPD throughout their careers in order to increase and refresh their subject and pedagogical knowledge and to enable them to embed these in practice. While any form of CPD willingly undertaken by a teacher will enhance her practice to some extent, the greatest impact is achieved when this is closely matched to needs that may have been identified by the teacher herself or by a colleagues who have the opportunity to assess her practice. The NCETM self-evaluation tools and personal learning space have been designed to support this process. A range of factors commonly influence the choice of CPD undertaken and the opportunity to take part. These include cost, time commitment, what is on oVer from known providers and the priorities of the school as a whole. This frequently results in fragmented provision and uptake amongst teachers. Head teachers are in a position to organise their schools so mathematics teachers obtain the support needed—issues that enhance recruitment and retention. 12. Currently there is no entitlement or responsibility for teachers to engage in CPD once they have achieved Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). In order for teachers to have appropriate CPD opportunities in any subject or aspect of education, school and college leadership must have an understanding of the value of teacher CPD in improving the learning of their students and the ability to assess what the needs of the teachers are. In the case of secondary and tertiary Mathematics, the NCETM has concerns that senior leaders often fail to recognise the impact that improving mathematics pedagogy can have on the quality of

46 Continuing Professional Development for teacher of mathematics (ACME December 2002). Report on Ensuring a high quality, localised infrastructure for the Continuing Professional Development of teachers of mathematics (ACME July 2005). Ensuring eVective Continuing Professional Development for teachers of mathematics in primary schools (ACME September 2006). Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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students’ learning and their attitudes towards the subject, while in primary schools head teachers often have insuYcient knowledge of mathematics to be able to recognise ineVective or inaccurate teaching of the subject. These factors suggest that there is a need for school and college leaders to work with colleagues so as to be able to present a vision for mathematics and its development for their school. 13. The NCETM has been appointed to lead on the coordination of mathematics-speciﬁc CPD as part of the Government’s STEM Programme and is establishing a National Mathematics CPD Committee. The work of the Committee will be informed by stakeholder groups and key agencies, including the NCETM Regional Advisory Committees. The Committee will identify gaps in provision and facilitate and promote a more coordinated CPD oVer for teachers in schools and colleges through encouraging these groups and agencies to work in partnership. February 2009

References Many of the reports and documents referred to in this submission are available to view online. We have included electronic links to these documents where this is the case. ACME (2002) Continuing Professional Development for teachers of mathematics. ACME (2005) Report on Ensuring a high quality, localised infrastructure for the Continuing Professional Development of teachers of mathematics. ACME (2006) Ensuring eVective Continuing Professional Development for teachers of mathematics in primary schools. Askew, M, Brown, M, Rhodes, V, Johnson, D and Wiliam, D (1997), EVective Teachers of Numeracy: Final Report. London: King’s College London. Cockcroft, W (chair), (1982). Mathematics Counts: Report of the Committee of Enquiry, London: HMSO. DCSF (2004) Making Mathematics Count: the Report of Professor Adrian Smith’s Inquiry into Post- 14 Mathematics Education. DCSF (2008) Independent Review of Mathematics Teaching in Early Years Settings and Primary (The Williams Mathematics Review). NCETM (2008) Mathematics Matters: Final Report. Ofsted, (2008), Mathematics: Understanding the Score.

Memorandum submitted by Jackie Garratt, MA in Education, Teacher Trainer Teacher Training Inquiry — Comments from the Teacher Training Team at Barton Peveril College, Hampshire. — The team have taught City and Guilds PTLLS and CTLLS. — The team feel there is a need for a better qualiﬁcation for those wishing to teach a “skill” eg hairdressing, car maintenance. As a Teacher Training Team delivering PTLLS and CTLLS to the Post-16 sector through City and Guilds at Barton Peveril College we would like to make the following comments:

Measuring Quality 1. We have concerns about the current system for measuring good quality teaching in the Post-16 sector. 2. The Teacher Training Post-16 process as it stands at the moment ie PTLLS, CTLLS and DTLLS measures the quality of a good teacher through the observation of teaching and through completion of written assignments at Level 3, Level 4 and Level 5. 3. This route appears to be eVective for those who will be teaching an academic subject within the Post- 16 sector. However, this process is not eVective for those who wish to teach a skill, eg Construction, Plumbing or Hairdressing. These new teachers may have extreme diYculties writing at Level 4 and Level 5 but have exemplary skills in the classroom. For these potential teachers there needs to be a less academic route and a better measurement of their teaching of skills based subjects. 4. We feel that it is imperative that a skills based qualiﬁcation is devised which is supported by written assignments and collection of evidence, eg lesson plans and resources, but the focus should be on assessment via observation in the classroom. 5. Unfortunately the teacher training structure at the moment for Post-16 implies that if you can write a good academic essay you are a good teacher. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Entry into the teaching profession 6. Entry requirements should eVectively relate to the subject that is to be taught and this appears to be appropriate in the structure that is in place at the moment. Future teachers need to be required to develop literacy, numeracy and IT skills during their training as well as keeping up to date in their subject specialism. 7. There should be a staged process through PTLLS, an intermediate course and then on to the final year of DTLLS. At the moment some trainee teachers are having to enrol on to a DTLLS course committing themselves to two years of teacher training; implying that all those who enrol will make good teachers. A staged process would allow changes in career path. This big two year commitment may be putting oV some potentially good skills teachers. 8. The definitions of a “Full” and “Associate teacher” are not logical. A teacher delivering a 30 week course, two hours per week may have to design and implement a course but would be counted as an Associate Teacher. It would be more logical to have a teacher training route for those who are to be full- time teachers and those working part-time—perhaps a maximum of 15 hours per week. In this way a brick layer, for example, would be able to become qualified in teaching a skill but would also be able to continue the “day job”. They would complete PTLLS and an intermediate skills course but would not be required to complete the final year of DTLLS. The qualification would identify the ability to teach a skill at Post-16 and the focus would be on writing about their subject area ensuring that they were able to pass on this knowledge. 9. It is our impression that we will lose “skills” based teachers if we do not make the course appealing and relevant to their needs. 10. The current system seems appropriate, and appeals to, teachers of “academic” subjects.

The delivery of ITT 11. Higher Institutions do not seem to be following the PTLLS, CTLLS and DTLLS routes and are not using these terms. This is a concern to us. Learners who have completed CTLLS and then decide to continue on to Year 2 “DTLLS” at a University are being asked to complete a “bolt on” activity. The idea of parity does not seem to be working eVectively in practice. 12. There is a major concern as regards the 14–16 agenda—where does this fit in? Many teachers who have been trained as Post-16 teachers are being asked within colleges to deliver the 14–16 agenda. It is often newly trained Post-16 teachers who are being asked to deliver courses to these younger learners. Their lack of training in this area has happened because they are falling between the secondary sector and the Post- 16 sector and this needs to be addressed urgently. More specific training needs to be given to support these new teachers working with the 14–16 age group. It also needs to be noted that these new teachers are often those teaching “skills”. Those already identified above as not being very well catered for when it comes to Teacher Training. 13. More training events need to be oVered to the Teacher Trainers to ensure standardisation and quality throughout.

CPD provision 14. CPD is obviously an important element of being a teacher. Good recording of CPD is to be encouraged and tracked. However, IfL is still an issue in some colleges and not all of them are encouraging their teachers to sing up. It is still diYcult to register CPD on the IfL system. Jackie Garratt M.A. in Education, Teacher Trainer Chris Archdeacon Adult Education Manager, Teacher Trainer February 2009

Memorandum submitted by GuildHE Summary of Key Points This submission is presented on behalf of GuildHE, one of the two representative bodies for higher education with 29 institutions in membership over a third of which are oVering programmes in teacher education. It argues that: — GuildHE members make a distinctive and highly successful contribution to teacher training underpinned by a signiﬁcant heritage in the ﬁeld. — Good teaching can be evidenced, but it is a dynamic attribute, based on a wide range of factors, including partnerships, practitioner skill and deep conceptual understanding. — Teaching is not a mechanistic activity; not all aspects of quality can be measured quantitatively. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— Robust evaluation mechanisms already exist, and GuildHE members have been well tested, including through applications for taught degree awarding powers (TDAP); the new Ofsted Self Assessment Document requires further work and may not be necessary,given existing mechanisms. EVective measurement of pupil attainment is more important. — Academic qualifications are only one aspect of being a good teacher; other attributes are equally important. — Allocation prioritisation needs to take due account of regional and other balances, including denomination; the need for course sustainability is crucial; the current flexibility of entry routes works well, though progression routes need to be better articulated. — There is a tension between student retention and the need to take risks in order to increase diversity. Diversity amongst schools also needs to be recognised and an emphasis placed on diversity issues in post-QTS CPD for all staV. — Funding support for STEM subjects between TDA and HEFCE needs to be clarified and simplified. — The nature of partnerships between schools and HEIs needs to be explored, strengthened and supported; career opportunities need to be diversified and made both more flexible and attractive. — The research environment found in HEIs is crucial to future success, as is the widespread and eVective C/PPD provision.

Introduction and Background 1. The national representative body GuildHE is the key advocate for the importance of institutional diversity and student choice in higher education. Our member institutions comprise some of the newest and most dynamic universities in England, well established university colleges, specialist higher education institutions and some specialist FE and some private HE providers. We work closely with UCET (Universities’ Council for the Education of Teachers) alongside Universities UK (UUK) in relation to the joint Teacher Educational Advisory Committee (TEAG). National data47 on HE provision of teacher education includes programmes delivered through universities and in the smaller degree awarding institutions recently designated university colleges. 2. The attention paid to improving teacher training has produced highly successful institutions as judged by the Training and Development Agency for England (TDA). GuildHE members form a distinctive part of that educational community. They have successful heritages, some since the mid 19th century, in widening participation. Institutions like University College Plymouth St Mark & St John (UCP Marjon) or St Mary’s University College Twickenham were established (under earlier names), to provide opportunities for people who, at that time, would not otherwise have had access to higher education. The education in all GuildHE providers is underpinned by explicit value-based approaches, in a number of cases arising from their Christian foundations.

Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching 3. Higher education research recognises that the notion of “good quality teaching” is both contested and socially constructed thereby changing and evolving over time. This perspective enables the sector to critically challenge and successfully respond to change. Excellent partnerships with schools, including joint lesson observations, tutor—teacher meetings and joint report writing also help to create and maintain a shared understanding of the changing nature of good practice. 4. GuildHE members consider that good teaching demands highly developed practitioner skill and a deep conceptual understanding of how children learn. It draws on well developed subject level knowledge and applies this in ways that facilitate children’s understanding. It follows that teaching should not be seen as a reductionist or mechanistic activity that derives from a person being “skilled up”.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 5. Ofsted has had a dominant role in the sector in deﬁning “good quality teaching” and in measuring this. Signiﬁcant data sets relating to teacher quality48 have been captured but risk creating the illusion that all aspects of teaching quality can be quantitatively measured. 6. The HEIs, through the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), and the profession, through the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE), have the mechanisms necessary for quality judgements and have proven that they are well able to regulate quality and professional aVairs. In addition the GuildHE institutions oVering teacher education have also been the most successful group in achieving degree

47 TDA Statistics and reports eg Results of Newly Qualiﬁed Teacher Survey 2008; Ofsted Annual Report 2007–08. 48 TDA, Strategic Plan 2008–13 Ofsted description of teachers now entering the profession as best ever. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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awarding powers through the testing and robust procedures of the QAA and Privy Council. As such they have had their internal quality assurance mechanisms subject to close scrutiny over full academic cycles by independent teams of assessors. 7. The evidence base required for the new annual Self Assessment Document for Ofsted has proved unhelpfully time-consuming to compile. Whether the new single framework for inspection developed by Ofsted will result in a “lighter touch” has yet to be proven. GuildHE would argue it is costly and unnecessary since HEIs have internal and external assurance through the QAA. 8. There is value in the National Student Surveys but the real beneﬁt to the ITT learner from good quality teaching may not become apparent for some time into a teacher’s working life. Increasingly ITT quality is measured through pupil attainment but this needs to be recognised in the context of the school in which it takes place. The HEIs take care to nurture and manage the relationship with schools, not least in order to ensure the eVective support for trainees but some factors are outside their control.49

Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT 9. The standards established by the Secretary of State, Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the expectations of the GTCE on conduct and practice provide clarification on the characteristics of a good teacher. There are concerns that the TDA’s emphasis on high quality academic qualifications50 fails to appreciate that academic qualities are just one part of the spectrum of requirements. Commitment, resilience, a clearly articulated motivation to teach and a dedication to the education and welfare of pupils are equally important.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 10. Allocation prioritisation does not always take suYcient account of regional or denominational issues.51 It is understood that the TDA may make changes to the teacher supply model which could recognise regional issues but would need monitoring against course sustainability.GuildHE members would support judgments that are reached through both qualitative and quantitative data and that retain a national focus within the market and planning for newly qualiﬁed teachers, provided that there was appropriate dialogue with HE providers. Various supply problems, such as immigration numbers, have demonstrated that control mechanisms have been too short term and yet insuYciently responsive to local demand peaks. It would be beneﬁcial to gather more longitudinal data than is currently collected about retention in teaching for those who have followed school—based compared to HEI-based routes.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 11. The current diversity of routes works well to secure new teachers from a wide range of backgrounds and life experiences. The flexibility of entry routes should be preserved and support those engaging at diVerent stages of their lives. The benchmark of teaching as an all graduate profession should be retained, with the expectation of Masters awards secured by qualified teachers and matched by other development opportunities for the school workforce in general. Presently, however, there are no mechanisms to enable those with eg Foundation Degrees to top-up to Qualified Teacher Status whilst still being employed in a work based learning environment—a further developed part time route to QTS is necessary. 12. The models are not mutually exclusive—the eVectiveness of employer-based study can be improved by establishing close relationships with and validation through a higher education institution such that the students’ exposure to a professional and academic context is broadened such as St Mary’s University College, Twickenham and the Primary Catholic Partnership.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 13. The TDA support for diversity through recruitment and retention grants is welcome. However, the latest Ofsted self evaluation emphasis on retention does not necessarily encourage widening participation nor HEIs being adventurous in admitting applicants with potential. Some institutions are taking imaginative approaches such as the project at Newman University College Birmingham to bring refugee teachers back into the profession.

49 Availability of supervisors with schools. 50 First class degrees for PGCEs. 51 Limitations on opportunities for Catholic sector schools. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings Whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances 14. Achievement and attainment are very “context specific” so it is important to recognise the diversity of schools in which students are placed. Those who are very successful in one context may well struggle in another and factors like the quality of leadership, support, mentoring and collegiality are critical factors contributing to induction outcomes. The current Ofsted arrangements discourage trainees or their institutions from “risk taking” and innovatory practice explorations whilst teaching pupils in “challenging” schools and contexts. Both national and international research considers that the first year of working in teaching is more crucial than in many other professions and other work suggests that becoming a teaching professional is a much longer term process than many care to recognise. Some consider that gaining a secure teaching style may take up to seven years after completion of the ITT course. 15. Even in a four year undergraduate programme there is insuYcient time for trainees to do more than just scratch the special education needs (SEN) surface. In the future there could be opportunities oVered through the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) to extend such skills. Emphasis and funding should be placed on post QTS training and CPD for all school staV, perhaps best delivered in-house by properly trained SEN Coordinators. In the University of Winchester, undergraduate SEN specialists are benefiting from previous Winchester involvement in a TDA research funded project with a placement in a special school as part of the programme.

The Delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 16. The TDA QTS standards requirements and Ofsted inspection arrangements mean that there is less opportunity for innovation and diversity in programme content, particularly on postgraduate routes. A greater degree of ﬂexibility will soon be needed, particularly in secondary, as the school curriculum develops and becomes less reliant on very clear demarcated subjects. Many GuildHE practitioners consider that the current inspection regime is a positive discouragement for HE providers to engage in innovatory programme design and modes of delivery. They also argue the autonomous HE environment and range of intake routes do provide an excellent dynamic for new ideas—synthesizing theory, practice, action research and policy development combining specialist practitioner and intellectual engagement. This ensures that student engagement with ITT has depth, scale and rigour. Innovations can be fed through across many schools given the HEIs’ interaction with hundreds of organisations though placements, research and widening participation links. The University of Cumbria has partnerships with over 1,600 schools. Run by over 300 PGCE and BEd students, the TOPLINK Festival at UCP Marjon links with 60 plus schools. 17. The importance nationally of the STEM subjects is well understood and it is recognised that these are resource intensive. Many GuildHE institutions train teachers who will be responsible for teaching STEM subjects but there is currently a mismatch of resources in this area. The TDA’s responsibility for ITT does not include capital expenditure, while capital funding for the STEM subjects channelled through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) does not connect adequately to the future teachers need for laboratory training environments. A Science Infrastructure Fund geared to capital investment for teaching training facilities and in particular laboratory refurbishment would give incentives and provide an environment where inspiring and innovative teaching methods for STEM will thrive.

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 18. Higher education institutions make a distinctive contribution to ITT by the breadth and quality of their educational delivery co-located with education for other practitioners and in ethical professional contexts. The calibre and expectations of quality assured HE encourages adaptable professionals. The connectivity to work placements ensures the learning they support is practical and relevant. Learning with student peers and in multidisciplinary environments benefits a trainee compared to following an employment based route without HEI linkages. The role of HEIs is even more crucial as the M-level professional postgraduate becomes the norm. 19. York St John University undertakes innovative teacher training work in settings other than schools, for which it has received national recognition. Within its internationalisation agenda it includes richly diverse work with ITT trainees in Europe, the USA and Hong Kong. Such innovations, built on the university’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, would not have been viable other than in an HEI context ensuring future teachers have experience broader than the classroom. Similarly where ITT students complete an independent research project within an HEI’s ambit, for example at the University Winchester, it forms a significant factor in their professional development and preparation for their first teaching post, and subsequent induction. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 20. The partnership working between schools and higher education institutions is complex, and its sustainability as a mode of learning under diVerent pressures depending on phase and subject area. Shortage secondary subject areas will almost always find placements relatively easily whereas there is an imbalance in the primary sector around suitable primary phase and nursery placements. 21. The core issue is that the arrangement “is not one of equals”—schools can opt in and out of arrangements as and when they wish; HEIs have limited levers to secure school delivery in the way they would prefer. As school contexts change—Ofsted inspection, change of head teacher, high turnover of staff—so an individual school’s involvement changes. In response, HEIs are increasingly widening their networks geographically, which requires greater development and travelling costs. The management overhead to both organisations of ensuring a good learning experience for the student is significant. There are many examples, as such Bishop Grosseteste University College with Monks Dyke Community School, where a longstanding and extensive partnership permits innovative activities. 22. The incentives for schools to play their part fully are inadequate. Rather than financial inducements, GuildHE members question whether embedding expectations within the school Ofsted inspection would produce greater impact, with “good” or even “satisfactory” grades being unobtainable without evidence of participation in placement support. Across both school and HE sectors, in support of raising aspiration and attainment, there is increasing pressure for greater collaboration. This includes examples of joint appointments and partnerships to deliver academies/trust schools—such as Leeds Trinity’s work with the Garforth Trust—as well as impact on the whole school workforce—management, teaching assistants, estates staV etc.

The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 23. There are insuYcient career development opportunities and salary enhancements in most HEIs when compared to staV in a school/local authority context. Some advocate more bespoke management development opportunities for leaders and managers in teacher education in HEIs and a new system to support more skill exchange between school and university settings. Some additional opportunities may be generated as a by product of active mentoring/in school support for the MTL. Secondments for experienced school staV into HEIs, teaching on ITT courses could be considered.

The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 24. Having opportunities for students to develop in a research environment is one of the strong characteristics of ITT in HEIs. Trainees beneﬁt both from the range of staV expertise, and by being located within debates about policy and practice. HEIs act as conduits more broadly for the research from within HE. The contribution is holistic, wide reaching and distinctive to HEIs but potentially at risk due to staV age proﬁle in HEIs—hence previously presented proposals to DCSF/DIUS for “New Blood” schemes— which are seen as a help even if short term. 25. The outcomes of educational research substantively inform HEIs in their ITT delivery.52 There could be more opportunities for HEI ITT staV to be the generators of school context educational research through going back to support for further action research in schools.53 It is also important to recognise the impact of this research and practitioner presence on pedagogy within the multidisciplinary environment of the HE institution itself. The University of Worcester has, for example, been awarded four National Teaching Fellowships.

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 26. At all the GuildHE institutions there is considerable CPD expertise and such provision is planned in close partnership with the beneficiaries and is carefully matched to school needs; eg University of Cumbria’s work with 10 federated secondary schools. The recent TDA PPD impact evaluation report clearly shows evidence for the eYcacy of this approach. The Ofsted Making a diVerence report also attests to the beneficial impact of CPD.54 27. The aspiration for teaching to become a masters-level profession and the development of the Masters in Teaching in Learning (MTL) are exciting and innovative. Locating this work in postgraduate communities within HEIs—with their degree awarding powers and subject and multi-professional breadth—is critical for success and an output of reflective professionals. The relation between MTL and the PPD provision currently funded by the TDA needs care to make sure the former is not developed at the

52 Range and scope of work visible in the RAE 2008 in the Education Unit of assessment. 53 Teacher education through classroom evaluation: the principles and practice of IT-INSET by Patricia M E Ashton; Euan S Henderson; Alan Peacock 1989. 54 TDA, PPD impact evaluation report March 2007; Ofsted Making a diVerence January 2004. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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expense of eVective current masters-level work. The TDA sets rigorous criteria for funding PPD and it must also allow for progression to doctoral-level work to support high impact research as is now happening with students at York St John University.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 28. Impact reporting is a positive way to evaluate the value of the PPD programmes on teachers as learners as well as on their practice as teachers. Measures are slowly becoming increasingly comprehensive, sophisticated and eVective. To deliver to these new expectations CPD spending on both pedagogy and subject with a national perspective on demand must be retained and improved and TDA could seek a simpliﬁed and proportionate funding structure that secures sensible accountability for CPD further funds.

Conclusion 29. While higher education has continuing work to do to support a range of professional contexts to respond to the challenges of Every Child Matters and a key part to play in the context of the NCEE, it cannot be complacent and it must build on the recent considerable achievements in the quality of teacher education and training delivered by the sector, helped in the recent past by the work of the TDA and the partnership processes. If GuildHE members have one overarching concern, apart from funding, it would be that the collaboration needed for the next phase of work will not be served by a TDA that seems increasingly to adopt distant and dictatorial approaches in its work with one of the key drivers of its success—the higher education institutions. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the University of Birmingham Executive Summary This submission outlines the nature of ITT courses in the University of Birmingham and our responses to the questions asked by the Select Committee. The introduction outlines the type of provision oVered for both primary and secondary teaching. Each question is then addressed and, where appropriate, supplementary evidence, from external sources such as Ofsted, or information about the Birmingham courses, is provided. In this submission we are seeking to emphasise the need for the Select Committee to take particular note of the excellent features of HEI based teacher training, most especially the importance of very experienced research active tutors who really know the trainees and provide training according to individual needs. The other feature to stress is the excellence in partnership supporting the trainees during the course. The university has very good relationships with its partner schools and the strength of the partnership is commented upon in Ofsted reports. The strengths outlined in this submission illustrate the importance of a graduate entry level into teaching.

Introduction:Teacher Training in the University of Birmingham 1. The University of Birmingham School of Education’s mission is to contribute to high standards of teaching, learning and achievement in education through good quality programmes of teaching and research that are guided by a commitment to equality of opportunity. The school has a long tradition of research and scholarship across its academic areas. 2. The University of Birmingham oVers initial teacher education (ITE) courses in both primary and secondary education leading to the award of a postgraduate certificate in education. The masters level provision develops the beginning teacher as researcher, building on the research expertise of the School. The University of Birmingham is committed to the continuance of graduate level entry into Initial Teacher Training. 3. The courses aim to develop trainees’ professional competencies in the planning and teaching of various programmes in secondary, primary and early years’ education and to develop the wider professional knowledge and skills expected of a qualified teacher. 4. Many university based ITE courses are fortunate in that they continue to appoint full time research active tutors who are also committed to teaching on the PGCE course. At Birmingham all tutors have significant school experience as well as involvement in curriculum development at a national and/or international level. Thus trainees are oVered specialist support and expertise from tutors who are at the forefront of developments in their subject areas as well as having close and eVective links with the schools in our partnership. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Provision for Primary Teacher Training 5. The Primary PGCE partnership currently includes approximately 100 schools in which trainees are placed. Sixty per cent of schools are in the Birmingham LA with the remainder located in the surrounding LAs—Dudley, Walsall, Solihull, Sandwell, Worcester, Wolverhampton and StaVordshire. 6. Our primary provision was last inspected during 2006–07 and received a grade 2 for management and quality assurance, with the quality of training judged to be “at least good.” The key strengths of the course were identiﬁed as: — the strong team of well qualiﬁed and committed tutors who deliver good quality university- based training — the strong coherence between the core subjects and professional studies — the good modelling of the use of information and communication technology within training sessions — the exemplary provision and organisation of resources for mathematics — the recruitment of trainees from minority ethnic groups

Provision for Secondary Teacher Training 7. The secondary programme works in partnership with approximately 80 schools across the West Midlands. A majority of schools, 53%, are in the Birmingham LA with the remainder located in the surrounding LAs—Dudley, Walsall, Solihull, Sandwell, Worcester, Wolverhampton and StaVordshire. 8. The secondary programme oVers training in English, mathematics, science (as biology, chemistry and physics), history, geography, modern foreign languages, physical education and religious education. All courses train teachers for the 11–18 age range. During the academic year 2007–08 there were 235 trainees. 9. Our secondary provision was last inspected during 2007–08 and received a grade 1 for management and quality assurance with the quality of training judged to be “at least good.” The key strengths of the course were identiﬁed as: — the concentration on the fundamentals of good teaching from the beginning of the training — the highly personalised nature of the training; — the high level of professional dialogue and discourse which takes place;; — the high calibre of the trainees and their commitment to the training — the excellent communication and strong professional relationships across the partnership;; — the outstanding quality of the training provided for school-based mentors — the prominence of reﬂective and evaluative practice in the training and the management and quality assurance of the programme; and — the cohesiveness of the partnership between the university and the schools.

University of Birmingham Response to the Select Committee Questions Measuring quality: the extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; and the evidence base for what makes good quality teaching is wide and continuing to develop 10. Many university based ITE courses are fortunate in that they continue to appoint full time research active tutors who are also committed to teaching on the PGCE course. At the University of Birmingham all tutors have signiﬁcant school experience as well as involvement in curriculum development at a national and/or international level. Thus trainees are oVered specialist support and expertise from tutors who are at the forefront of developments in their subject areas as well as having close and eVective links with the schools in our partnership. Our PGCE programme is validated at Master’s level, so that all newly qualiﬁed teachers from our course will have undertaken school based research an evaluated the research of others. A number go on to complete an MEd, adding to their evidence base.

Measuring quality: the ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 11. Although the indicators of good teaching are shared amongst the profession, and suggested by the TDA standards, we can only measure good teaching in the ways we can measure good literature. We believe that good teaching cannot be adequately described or measured in a narrow utilitarian, technicist way.There is no objective numerical system which has validity and reliability which allows learner need, context, purpose, environment, etc, to be evaluated, as the contribution of particular indicators will vary in each situation. The problem with numerical systems is that often a spurious truth and objectivity is attributed to them. We think it is perfectly possible to be objective and accurate in judgements based on sound criteria for excellence without necessarily using such a narrowly based numerical/grading system. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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12. In the University of Birmingham, assessment is made at diVerent times and in diVerent contexts and draws on evidence from a range of sources. The courses also match the assessment protocols carefully against the demands required by the university—with internal and external moderation (external examiners) and external audit by the QAA, as well as against the requirements made by the TDA which are subject to external inspection procedures by Ofsted. To meet these varying demands the courses weave a necessary mix of professional and academic approaches to teaching, learning and assessment. The courses are a combination of university-based and school-based teaching and learning experiences. 13. We have been praised by Ofsted in subject reports for the excellence of our exempliﬁcation of classroom practice and the structure that we provide through sessions. Trainees leave feeling that they have been stretched and report being well-prepared for the profession. Completion rates are higher than the national average and we are particularly pleased with the success rates of the non shortage subjects NQTs who move into employment in schools. 14. Attention to individual needs is deeply embedded within the courses and their identiﬁcation is made through participation in a range of appropriate activities and in collaboration with tutors, teachers and, equally importantly,fellow trainees. Tutors provide individual tutorials at appropriate points within the year and are also available for additional support at trainees’ request. Mentors also provide individual support through the lesson appraisal process and the weekly meetings.

Entry into the teaching profession: the characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reﬂected in current entry requirements for ITT 15. Our entry level qualiﬁcations have risen—we have moved from 72% with a 2:1 and above, to 89%. We maintain about an 85%—90% completion rate, with over 90% of those completing entering the profession (we lose approximately 5%). Recruitment to most secondary subjects remains very good with an increase of applicants in some of the shortage subjects since the bursary support. Total applications had been around 700, but increased in 2004–05 to 850 and then again in 2005–06 to 979. In 2006–07 applications were at 900 and in 2007–08 just under 800 Around 60% of the intake is female, which is the average for the sector. The proportion of mature trainees is around 28%. 16. Over the last few years we have concentrated on advertising the course and working in local schools to promote teaching. We collate a data bank of responses from those withdrawing to explore both the context and the process of their learning. Indeed we have a research project funded by TDA to explore and develop good practice in this area. 17. Our thorough selection process includes representatives from partnership schools. In primary, a good feature is the successful completion of a school placement for each candidate before they are accepted on to the course. Recruitment following our previous inspection in 2006–07 has remained buoyant.

18. Entry into the teaching profession: the appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level Trainee numbers are allocated according to national need and do not consider regional need. Most trainees seek jobs in the location of their training institutions and the places available need to reﬂect the needs of the locality of the HEI. No one in HEI will accept trainees who do not have the emerging qualities necessary for teaching, as tutors will consider the demands made on their partner schools and the HEI provision.

Entry into the teaching profession: the adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 20. It is diYcult to comment on this but we can provide evidence of the importance of the work of HEIs in this area as illustrated below. 21. The University of Birmingham is committed to inclusive practice. Recruitment of trainees from minority ethnic backgrounds continues to be a strength of our provision, as highlighted by both the primary Ofsted report 2006–07 and secondary, 2008. We are currently involved in funded research for the TDA on the recruitment and retention of minority ethnic trainees in both primary and secondary courses and the recruitment and retention of male trainees on primary ITE programmes across the West Midlands. 22. We endeavour to promote equality of opportunity in our selection processes in a range of diVerent ways. We have built strong links with Birmingham LA and regularly attend sessions run by the LA to encourage applicants to the teaching profession from minority groups. 23. We are the chosen HEI in the city to work as partners with the LA on the MERITT programme (Minority Ethnic Recruitment into ITT) and have worked on this project for several years. Our recruitment, retention and employment rates for this cohort of trainees demonstrate the success of this initiative, and are particularly high in comparison with national ﬁgures, (28% last year against a TDA target of 22%). Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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24. Our undergraduate programme recruits trainees from non-traditional routes who then have access to the PGCE programme. Our admissions criteria enable us to consider the applications from under- represented groups. As with the MERITT trainees, the Programme Manager provides information to the undergraduate programme prior to the application process.

25. We are also involved in Birmingham’s initiative to recruit men into teaching and have participated in events to promote this area of recruitment. In addition we have undertaken a research project about the role of men in initial teacher training to continue to inform how we develop this area of recruitment. The primary Ofsted report 2006–07 commented “The University has implemented successful strategies to improve its recruitment of males.”

Entry into the teaching profession: the extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances). 26. Certainly in PGCE provision there are limitations due to time; we believe strongly that a two year PGCE course based in HEIs with strong research based teaching and good partnership links is the best model.

Nevertheless in both primary and secondary courses in the University of Birmingham we have been praised by Ofsted for the strong links between professional studies and the core subjects. The primary Ofsted report 2006–07 states, “The level of course coherence between the elements of central training is very high. This coherence is achieved because the small close-knit team of tutors plan the programme together and have a thorough knowledge of all elements of the course”. The secondary report (2008) states, “There is exceptionally strong coherence between the subject and whole school issues training”. Trainees leave feeling that they have been stretched and report being well-prepared for their future careers in the teaching profession.

The delivery of ITT: the extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 27. The current system of Ofsted inspection, with an expectation of uniformity, conformity and standardised paper work does not encourage diversity and innovation. In our recent Ofsted inspection, we were told we were “very idiosyncratic” and it was diYcult to judge us because we have strong team work, integrated and ﬂat management structures and excellent school partnerships that runs without overburdening students, schools or tutors with the unnecessary paper work that allows for easy ticking of attributes by those wishing to undertake brief inspections.

The delivery if ITT: the role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 28. By working to integrate the evidence base for teaching into their courses, HEIs are uniquely able to extend the thinking of new teachers, allowing them to reﬂect and challenge bias and entrenched beliefs to the beneﬁt of their future teaching.

The delivery of ITT: whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 29. The current level of partnership is sustainable as long as adequate funds allow both schools and HEIs to oVer proper support to the development of teachers. The demand for 24 weeks in schools for secondary PGCE courses needs to be addressed as the balance does not allow the stronger students to return to the university and develop future strategies. Weaker student may need longer than 24 weeks and courses oVer extended placements to improve practical competence. Stronger students need longer times to improve their analytic and academic competences if they are to develop in the excellent teacher (or AST) role.

30. Ofsted and external examiners’ reports highlight excellent partnership links between the University of Birmingham and schools enhanced by a course model which requires tutors to visit schools regularly. Indeed, many of the tutors have been working in our partnership schools for a signiﬁcant time period. These links are strengthened because many mentors originally trained on the Birmingham PGCE course and local schools/departments have a high proportion of those who gained their PGCE at the University of Birmingham and who work in schools as NQTs, teachers, subject and phase co-ordinators, Heads of Departments, ASTs, Deputy Heads and Headteachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The delivery of ITT: the adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 31. Many in the teaching profession believe they are overburdened by change and central directives. Development opportunities suVer when everyone is running to change the paperwork in order to satisfy the latest version of a self-evaluation document or inspection framework. For example, the National Challenge Schools label is based on data which does not take account of context and ignores that many so-called good schools have better results because of intake not good teaching. More attention to research and those who work in education would be useful.

The delivery of ITT: the role of educational research in informing ITT provision 32. Research is at the heart of teacher development. Good teachers will understand the contribution of research ﬁndings to their work in the classroom and they will take a research based approach to the development of their own work by systematically trialling new ideas.

33. In the delivery of our courses, to match the university’s emphasis on research we are modelled on the University Learning, Teaching and Assessment Strategy in several ways. We make clear references to up to date research in our sessions, including research engaged in by the tutors who are “staV active in research”. We expect and enable our trainees to read academic articles relating to teaching. We have made research a core aspect of the assignments, consequently our trainees “undertake supervised, self directed projects to inculcate the ethos of research” in education. We address ethical and research issues appropriate to the speciﬁc requirements of the module assignments.

CPD provision: whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent; and the adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 34. There is a concern over possible future funding, or lack of it, for CPD work in the light of the development of the Masters in Teaching and Learning. Four years ago the university took a deliberate decision to develop the PGCE course and assess the written work at “M” level. Students can then return to the university, on a part time, basis after teaching for at least one year to complete a Masters in Education qualiﬁcation. This has enhanced our course and has been a signiﬁcant focus of our development work over the last four years, with over 100 students gaining the MEd. This is an academically rigorous, research based course. This is in line with the TDA’s commitment to high quality, high value CPD.

“Recent research suggests that the contribution which the “specialist” or “expert” makes to teachers’ CPD, such as you might ﬁnd through postgraduate study, is valuable and distinctive. Studying for an M- level qualiﬁcation remains one of the most highly regarded forms of CPD.” Alison Kitson TeachingExpertise.com. (Alison Kitson is programme leader for CPD at the TDA).

The question is, of course, how will such courses be aVected if money for CPD follows the MTL route to the exclusion of a variety of other qualiﬁcations, many of which are attractive and oVer high quality? February 2009

Memorandum submitted by Dr Anne Storey, Mrs Freda Wolfenden and Mrs Elizabeth Bird, The Open University Summary This memorandum provides evidence in respect of selected points of enquiry in relation primarily to CPD, but also to ITT. Evidence in relation to CPD is drawn from a recently completed Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) commissioned research project, and in relation to ITT from the experience of the Open University (OU) Professional Graduate Certiﬁcate in Education (PGCE) programme.

The evidence in relation to CPD indicates that teachers and senior leaders do not consider the form of current CPD activities to be eVective, and that most teachers’ approaches to CPD tend not to be collaborative or informed by research. The recommedations are for greater support for the development of more strategic, collaborative and research-informed approaches to CPD.

The evidence in respect of ITT provides an indication of the way in which alternative and innovative ITT routes can contribute to recruitment and diversity through widening participation, with the recommendation that a range of high quality alternative routes should be provided as one eVective element in increasing the diversity of entrants to the teaching profession. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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CPD Provision 1. Evidence-base Responses oVered to the two points of enquiry noted below arise from the recently-completed Cambridge University—Open University TDA-funded research project: Schools and continuing professional development in England—State of the Nation research project (T34718). The OU principal investigator (PI) for this year-long study is a member of the ITT team lodging responses in relation to this New Inquiry into Teacher Training. The research study focused on three core themes as perceived and experienced by teachers: — the benefits, status and eVectiveness of CPD; — the planning and organisation of CPD; and — access to CPD. Combining qualitative and quantitative approaches with insights from a literature review optimised the breadth and depth of the findings. The research team completed: — a literature review of reports of empirical research into CPD since 2004 (see McCormick et al, 2008 for the full report); — qualitative “snapshots” in nine primary and three secondary schools (see Storey et al, 2008 for the full report); — a survey of a national random sample of primary and secondary teachers in England (see Pedder et al, 2008 for the full report);and — a synthesis report of the research and findings (see Pedder et al, 2008). OVered below in response to the two questions relating to CPD that have been asked, are some key issues arising from the study. In addition, recommendations arising from the data generated and analysed are oVered to policy-makers. Further evidence in relation to these questions is provided by the findings of a TDA PPD Impact Evaluation, carried out by The Open University in 2008, which investigated the impact of Open University Masters level provision on participant’s practice in schools. It drew on a range of qualitative and quantitative data (including analysis of participant’s project reports) from 604 teachers working in primary, secondary and special schools in England who had studied an Open University eleven month 60 point Masters level module delivered in distance mode during 2007–08.

Q1. Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent? 2. Findings from the State of the Nation Project relating to Q1 1. Teachers and senior leaders do not consider the form of current CPD activities to be eVective. CPD activities in which teachers participate most often reflect more passive forms of learning and participation such as listening to a lecture or presentation (67%). Few teachers report spending most time in more active forms of CPD such as practising the use of pupil materials (17%), extended problem-solving (9%) and demonstrating a lesson, unit or skill (6%). In their survey responses teachers report that CPD activities are not sustained or embedded over time. The vast majority of teachers at all career stages would prefer more CPD that is on-going, based in practice, involves their immediate colleagues and is situated in their schools 2. A wide range of benefits are reflected in teachers’ and head teachers’ reasons for participating in CPD included: opportunities to work with other colleagues, to improve their professional abilities and classroom practice, to address immediate school needs, to have a positive impact on pupil learning, to improve academic achievement, to follow-up previous CPD activities, to address immediate classroom needs, and to gain a better understanding of national curriculum requirements. 3. Most teachers’ approaches to CPD tend not to be collaborative or informed by research. 4. Teachers’ perceptions about the benefits of CPD vary significantly by school and teacher characteristics. 5. The vast majority of teachers at all career stages would prefer more CPD that is on-going, based in practice, involves their immediate colleagues and is situated in their schools. 6. Teachers with one to two years of experience are more likely to participate in CPD with an emphasis on behaviour management and deepening their pedagogical knowledge than their colleagues with more years of experience. 7. The primary barrier to CPD for teachers is a lack of access to a range of opportunities. This is especially true for teachers with little experience, at early career stages and with little leadership responsibility, who have a narrower range of CPD opportunities available to them than their more experienced or senior colleagues. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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8. School type and conditions can also serve as barriers to CPD engagement. Primary school teachers and teachers in schools with low achievement levels have a narrower range of CPD opportunities oVered to them. Schools with a changed status—placed in special measures, for example—often experience a CPD programme structured exclusively around school-wide targets. In primary schools these have most regularly been focussed on improving numeracy and literacy skills, CPD that addresses a deficit or need is seen as usually prioritised by teacher respondents. 9. There was a fairly common perception among teachers in the snapshot schools that issues for whole- school improvement are prioritised at the expense of personal-professional CPD needs 10. Teachers often make decisions to participate (or not participate) in CPD activities based on their perceptions of the financial resources available and the perceived quality of supply teachers. 11. Teachers often make decisions to participate (or not participate) in CPD activities based on their perceptions of the financial resources available and the perceived quality of supply teachers. 12. There is some indication that teachers with one to two years of experience value courses leading to accreditation more so than teachers with more experience. 75% of surveyed teachers indicate that accreditation is “not important” or “of limited importance” in their decisions to participate in CPD. 13. Opinion was divided as to whether the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) qualification or that accreditation of CPD in general would raise the status of the profession, serve as an attractive recruitment element, or as a factor that would encourage retention 14. Beginning teachers more typically see CPD as an entitlement and something which would equip them for the next career stage or role development. 15. Schools vary in their practice in terms of linking performance management (PM) processes with CPD opportunities with the intention of raising standards and shaping learning processes. In some cases these links are symbiotic, in others, dislocated. 16. Strategic planning for CPD frequently does not provide for the wide range of professional development needs that exist in schools. 17. The study’s literature review notes the diYculty involved in identifying the variables that contribute to changes in pupils’ learning outcomes in general, and the more specific diYculty of identifying particular aspects of CPD on pupils’ learning. (Ofsted 2006, page 203).

3. Findings from the OU TDA PPD Project related to Q1 1. All the evidence collected pointed to a positive impact of the Masters level study on teachers’ practice across a number of dimensions; a particularly strong thread was teachers’ increased confidence, they felt more informed and more professional about their practice. Through both the structured assignments undertaken during the course and in work for their practice–related projects teachers showed considerable developments in identifying their own areas of strength and needs, areas for improvement and prioritising them, reflecting on their current practice and in applying theory to practice. A very high majority of teachers indicated that the courses enhanced their abilities in exploring pupils’ behaviour, appropriate assessments and responses to special learning needs ( a particular focus of these Masters level courses). 2. Teacher’s own project reports and course discussions indicated that teachers’ own professional development on these courses had a direct impact on their pupils’ learning, in particular through the small scale project which involved teachers in using diVerent strategies and testing their success. This was reported through improvements in pupils’ reading and spelling, self esteem, behaviour and readiness to learn— learning habits. 3. Evidence indicated that participation in the Masters level courses enabled teachers to enhance their contribution to practices in their schools/institutions and in particular to evaluate current policy and practice. For a significant majority of teachers their project was related to the priorities indicated in their school development plan. Examples of areas in which contributions resulted included: — enhanced awareness of disability — greater focus on pupils with specific learning diYculties — evaluation and re-writing of policies including special needs policies, behaviour policies and policies regarding screening — procedures for curriculum access for those with literacy delays — setting up a project to explore peer mentoring in the school — evaluation of department procedures in terms of “how ‘dyslexia friendly’ they are”. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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4. Recommendations relating to Q1 1. Teachers need to be supported at school in developing more collaborative and research-informed approaches to their CPD. 2. Schools need to be supported in seeing the value and potential of research-informed approaches to CPD. 3. Schools need to be supported in developing strategies to help diVerent groups of teachers across the school organisation develop and embed CPD practices that emphasise continuous, long-term, sustained professional learning. 4. Systems of support need to be developed to help senior leaders understand the potential of CPD for raising standards and school improvement. 5. Teachers need to be supported in developing more strategic perspectives in relation to CPD. They need to be helped to develop their understanding of how CPD can promote school development and improvements in students’ learning. 6. Schools need to be supported in understanding the core elements and processes of a truly “strategic” plan for CPD. 7. Schools would benefit from encouragement and advice about how to eVectively meet the wide range of CPD needs identified. 8. The relative paucity of evidence in the literature linked to modernisation and New Professionalism indicates that these aspects require further investigation in the research field. 9. The gap between values and practices and inconsistent performance management processes point to the need for more systemic developments over time to achieve projected benefits in a more consistent way across diVerent school contexts. 10. The potential of the professional standards to recognise the strengths and achievements of teachers and schools can profitably be developed to enable teachers to retain focus and to support their career stages and career-path plans. 11. CPD activities should be planned to coincide with career stage development. This may necessitate cooperation between networks of schools to meet the needs of career stages where few teachers may be present in one school—for example, newly qualified teachers (NQTs). 12. School leaders need to know and alert all their staV to the patterns of CPD activity operating within the school context and the rationale for them. 13. School leaders need to be supported to appreciate that organisational choices about role functions and systems can encourage or directly undercut strategic planning and implementation of CPD. 14. School leaders need to be alerted to the disadvantages of disparate systems, diVerently led, for CPD and performance management processes in their schools and be encouraged to develop greater interplay between the two elements. 15. School leaders could profitably be alerted to the distinctive remit of Advanced Skills Teachers (ASTs) and Excellent Teachers (ETs) and further develop the potential of these post-holders within schools’ CPD contexts.

Q2. The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 5. Evaluation,Value for Money and Impact 1. Current arrangements are inadequate as are, often, schools’ strategic planning for CPD. Strategic plans fail to meet the wide range of needs that is generated, 2. Few mechanisms are used for the evaluation of CPD activities. Evaluation forms or questionnaires are used in many schools but in some cases the purposes of these are not evident to teachers. 3. Where something more than a participant reaction to the CPD is requested, there is often a problem experienced in interpreting evaluations. In many schools, follow-up action, linked to a CPD strategic plan and speciﬁc outcomes, including pupil achievement, are absent. 4. Value for money is generally seen as important but evidence is rather limited in terms of whether it is rigorously considered by school leaders when evaluating CPD, and, as a result, there are very few studies that can show evidence of this dimension relating to CPD. 5. In none of the twelve snapshot schools of the study was there evidence of a detailed and criterion- referenced value-for-money calculation made of a CPD event that had occurred, or might do so, as part of an established evaluation and action process. 6. Overall, “evaluation” of CPD appeared instinctive, pragmatic and without explicit reference to clearly deﬁned learning outcomes for teachers or students. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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6. Spending on CPD Provision 1. Spending for CPD varies significantly by school characteristics and no overall patterns emerged. Reported estimates of the proportion of school budgets spent on CPD ranged from 0.25% to as much as 15%. Reported estimates of the proportion of school. There are significant diVerences between primary and secondary spending on CPD activities. Secondary schools spend significantly more on external courses and materials for CPD than primary schools. Primary schools spend significantly more on supply cover and school-led CPD than secondary schools. 2. Schools in diVerent locations (non-rural and rural) or regions spend on CPD diVerently but how they do so varied greatly within and among school type. 3. Of the amounts spent on CPD, school leaders reported spending a significant, although not a major proportion, on supply cover for CPD (46%). Another substantial proportion of costs is spent on external courses (32%) with fewer costs being allocated to school-led CPD (16%) and materials (6%).

7. Recommendations relating to Question 2 1. It would be helpful to develop clear guidance for school leaders so that schools can recognise and use appropriate evaluation systems and processes linked to the strategic planning of CPD. This support could include a criterion-referenced value-for-money analysis. 2. There should be wider involvement of senior leaders in CPD strategic planning and in developing informed and consistent patterns of CPD activity in their schools (with relevant follow-up action). This would help to develop closer links between teachers’ CPD, pupils’ learning and school improvement priorities. 3. Training and development opportunities in CPD evaluation and follow—up for school leaders would provide useful opportunities to plan strategically to more eVectively balance and meet the wide range of professional development need in their schools.

ITT Provision Responses oVered to the points of enquiry noted below draw on the Open University ﬂexible PGCE course as evidence of the contribution of alternative routes into the profession.

Q3 The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession 1. The Open University PGCE provides an example of the ways in which alternative routes into the profession can contribute to widening participation, thus increasing diversity. 2. The Open University PGCE is unique in being a ﬂexible, nationally available, distance-learning programme. The stated aim of the OU PGCE programme is to:

Provide a route to QTS and PGCE for students who require maximum flexibility to meet their personal needs and circumstances, 1. Flexibility is achieved through: — six registration points each year; — students allowed up to three years to complete the course; — modular, distance-learning study; — exemption from periods of school placement and/or study in recognition of relevant prior experience; — an assessment only route; — individualised training plans following an extensive needs analysis; snd — support from a locally-based subject-specialist tutor. 2. The success of the PGCE in achieving its stated aim can be seen in a student profile that is markedly diVerent to that for the sector as a whole, and from Ofsted and external examiner evidence. 3. The age profile for OU PGCE students, indicated below, shows that the vast majority of the students are mature, career-change students who bring a wealth of other experience to the classroom. The two charts below, which use OU and TDA Profiles data for 2006–07, compare the OU profile with the sector profile for the same year: Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Age profile, sector, 2006/7 Age profile, OU students, 2006/7

45% 25% 40%

35% 20% 30%

25% 15% 20%

15% 10% % of students 10% of students % 5% 5% 0% Under 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 Over 0% 25 55 under 25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 over 55 age age

This shows very clearly the markedly diVerent profile of OU PGCE students as compared to the sector. This is very significant in respect of widening participation in ITT. The age profile of OU students might be expected to be more closely similar to that of students on employment based routes, but the figure below indicates that the OU profile is still strikingly diVerent.

Age profile, EBITT, 2006/7

35% 30% 25% 20%

15%

% of students % 10% 5% 0% Under 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 Over 25 55 age

4. The ethnic proﬁle of OU PGCE students is also indicative of its success in contributing to increased diversity in ITT:

The table below shows the ethnic proﬁle for students recruited in 2006/7. TDA proﬁles data for the same year indicates that 14% of secondary postgraduate students were from minority ethnic backgrounds, and 12% across the sector as a whole.

Ethnic origin 2006/7

Asian 6% Black 6% Other 1% Mixed 2% White 84% Not declared/known 1% Total ethnic minority 15%

5. The ﬂexibility of the OU PGCE, and the individualised nature of the provision has also enabled students with disabilities and medical conditions to complete the course successfully where this would have been diYcult of impossible to achieve on a one-year, “traditional” PGCE.

6. The Ofsted report published in July 2008 notes that:

“By its very nature this ﬂexible PGCE is highly responsive to individual needs. Indeed, many trainees would not have been able to undertake teacher training without such provision. Start dates are ﬂexible. The very detailed and comprehensive initial needs analysis and subject auditing process and the subsequent development of individual training plans (ITP) are outstanding features of the programme and models of excellent practice.” Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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7. External examiners have commented that: “The flexible PGCE provides a vital service by allowing candidates to qualify to teach who would not otherwise be able to do so by any other routes.” (Music external examiner, 2004–05) In my three years as external examiner I have seen some exceptionally committed trainees who are fully aware that if this course was not available they may not be able to train to teach.” (Geography external examiner, 2007) “For [student] this PGCE is providing a unique way of training. The student, school and tutor feel that they have “pushed flexibility to its limits”, but it has been achieved successfully.” (Music external examiner 2007) 8. The ability of the OU PGCE to contribute to teacher recruitment in priority subjects (Design and Technology, Mathematics, Modern Languages, Music and Science) by attracting students who might not otherwise train to teach, and whose profile is markedly diVerent to that of the sector, highlights the importance of oVering a range of high quality routes into teaching in widening participation and encouraging diversity.

Q4. ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 1. It has been the experience of the Open University that the Training and Development Agency has been supportive and encouraging in respect of innovations in approach. In the light of the evidence above in respect of the success of the OU PGCE in widening participation, we regard it as essential that this support and encouragement for innovation be maintained. 2. In recent Ofsted inspections, we have found inspectors willing to engage with the complexity of our unusual approach: we regard this willingness on the part of HMI as essential if providers are to be encouraged to innovate and to try new approaches. February 2009

References Cook D & Wolfenden F (2009) Leading Professional Learning in School:Understanding the Role and Developing Role Descriptors, Report Commissioned by CfBT. Pedder, D, Storey, A and Opfrer, D V (2008) Schools and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in England—State of the Nation research project (T34718), Synthesis report (October). Storey, A, Banks, F, Cooper, D, Cunningham P, Ebbutt D, Fox A, Morgan B, Pedder D and Wolfenden, F (2008) Schools and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in England—State of the Nation research project (T34718), Qualitative report (September). McCormick, R, Banks, F, Morgan, B, Opfer, D, Pedder, D, Storey, A and Wolfenden, F (2008) Schools and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) i in England—State of the Nation” Research Project (T34718) Literature review (May). Opfer, D V, Pedder, D and Lavizca, Z 2008) Schools and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in England—State of the Nation research project (T34718), (October). Training and Development Agency for Schools (2008) ITT Performance Proﬁles 2006–07.

Memorandum submitted by the Geographical Association Executive Summary The Geographical Association (GA) identifies the following matters for consideration: — The need for Ofsted to report regularly on the quality of subject training. — Agreed guidelines to measure the quality of subject-specific teaching. — A better way to allocate secondary subject training places to ensure high quality training and supply of NQTs are maintained in each subject across the country. — The improvement of subject training in employment-based ITT. — How primary ITT can best equip new teachers to ensure high quality subject teaching as recommended by the Rose Review. — Establishment of funding for subject-focused education research and ways to halt the loss of subject expertise in university ITT departments. — The continued development of school-university partnerships, particularly in respect to school- based research and the proposed Masters in Teaching and Learning. — The maintenance of subject resource networks to support those involved in ITT. — How best to implement sustained, subject-specific professional development for all teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Introduction 1. The Geographical Association (GA) is the professional association for teachers of geography. It promotes supports and develops geography subject leadership at all levels, from new teachers in ITT to geography subject coordinators in primary schools and heads of department in secondary schools. The GA plays an active role in teachers’ professional development. It runs curriculum development projects55 and holds an annual geography conference attended by around 750 teachers. The association is currently a lead partner in the DCSF-funded Action Plan for Geography and is contributing to the “Support for schools” programme of training and resources to help schools implement the new secondary curriculum. 2. The GA provides support for new geography teachers and ITT geography tutors, particularly through the TDA-funded Geography Trainers’ Induction Programme (GTIP). One of the association’s working groups is focused on teacher education.

Measuring Quality Evidence base and shared sense of good quality ITT 3. Since 2003 Ofsted has not inspected ITT subjects in detail to provide evidence of quality.The inspectors sample secondary subjects, so regular visits are not made to all geography courses. In the current framework for inspection, secondary subjects are not graded or reported. Primary ITT inspection focuses on core subjects. 4. It was a mistake to end the publication of geography inspection reports. Without reports in the public domain on speciﬁc subject training there is no up-to-date, shared sense of what makes for good quality geography ITT provision. Subject reports could be used as benchmarks to improve practice. This is particularly important when provision is not quality assured by an external, experienced geography educator, which is often the case in small providers. Published reports also provide independent information to applicants to ITT. 5. The Geographical Association recommends that regular reports should be published on the quality of all geography ITT provision.

Measuring the quality of teaching 6. The revised ITT Standards (2007) make clearer reference than previously to the understanding and application of secure subject knowledge and pedagogy. However, the Standards do not measure the quality of trainees’ subject teaching. In schemes where QTS judgments are delegated to schools, Ofsted56 has highlighted the importance of clear expectations concerning trainees’ subject understanding for teaching if accurate and rigorous quality judgements are to be made. 7. Guidelines on the characteristics of excellent, good and poor geography teaching (with examples) should be agreed and be available in the public domain for inspectors, tutors and mentors to use. This would enable comparable and consistent judgements from provider to provider. 8. The Geographical Association recommends that guidelines are established for what makes good quality teaching in each subject and these are used to benchmark the quality of subject-speciﬁc teaching.

Entry into the Teaching Profession The way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 9. For a number of years57 the GA has been concerned about the allocation of secondary geography training places and has shared these concerns with the Teaching and Development Agency (TDA).58 10. Our key concerns are: — The significant reduction in the number of training places for geography from 1,116 in 1999 to 692 in 2008.59 — Allocation of geography training places does not adequately reflect course quality.Since individual subjects are not graded by Ofsted, excellent geography training cannot be identified or rewarded with additional training places. — Some large geography courses of high quality have seen harsh reductions60 while some satisfactory ones have had no cuts.61 The TDA is not fulfilling its remit to allocate funding in relation to quality.

55 For further information see: www.geography.org.uk/projects/ 56 An employment-based route into teaching 2003–06, Ofsted January 2007, HMI 2664 para 25. 57 “Training new geography teachers”, Andrea Tapsﬁeld, Teaching Geography, Spring 2008 (See Appendix 1—not printed). 58 See Letter in Appendix 2—not printed. 59 TDA data on secondary training allocations. 60 For example, a provider graded “excellent” in its last full Ofsted geography inspection, saw places fall from 20 in 2005–06 and to 13 for 2007–08, while another dropped from 40 to 25 places. 61 Recent allocations have not reduced cohorts of less than 10. Small cohorts are often relatively new courses. They also arise because their training quality is only satisfactory and the TDA has not allowed expansion. Therefore courses with a weaker history of training quality are being allowed to maintain places while more established and successful courses are being cut. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— The uneven distribution of geography training places does not always reﬂect local demand, for example in Yorkshire62 and the Midlands. — Good university geography courses have closed, while smaller units of geography provision, for example EBITT schemes, have expanded. 11. The current method of allocating places for secondary subject places is based on overall quality grades for a provider, which may not correlate with the quality of individual subjects. This is having a serious eVect on some of the country’s best geography provision: Numbers have been reduced for high quality courses and maintained for some weaker ones so that proportionally more trainees are being trained on the latter. The GA fears this will lead to a shortfall of good geography NQTs and have a negative impact on the quality of geography teaching. 12. The Geographical Association recommends that the TDA should develop a better way to allocate training places in secondary subjects to ensure that high quality training and supply of NQTs is maintained.

The eVectiveness of the current range of routes into teaching 13. Those intending to become secondary geography teachers have a good choice of routes into teaching. More ﬂexible routes, such as from the Open University, have widened access by providing opportunities for part time study and should be encouraged. 14. Most entrants are trained by universities, with only a handful trained through employment-based routes and school-based schemes. Ofsted has reported signiﬁcant diVerences in the quality of subject training between routes. In 2003 it reported63 that for secondary ITT, “90% trainees showed good knowledge and understanding of their specialist subject” and, “most training by subject tutors was of high-quality and provided particularly good models of teaching”. By comparison, in 2007 with respect to employment-based training, Ofsted reported64 that, “subject training is not good enough in the great majority of providers.” 15. The GA believes that new teachers must have a secure understanding of subject pedagogy to teach their subject well. Most employment-based routes have only one or two trainees studying a subject; therefore they cannot resource a dedicated subject tutor. Those who are trained mainly in one school will not have suYcient experience of a range of teaching approaches and techniques unless these are thoroughly covered within structured training. 16. The Geographical Association recommends that it is imperative that the quality of subject training is enhanced in employment-based ITT which should oVer comparable quality of provision to that on university courses.

How well the existing ITT provision prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession 17. As shown above,65 secondary geography NQTs are trained well by universities, while other routes are less successful. Ofsted rated 80% of geography courses to be good or very good at their last inspection.66 In the annual TDA NQT survey, 90% or more responses rate geography training as good or very good.67 18. It is a very diVerent picture in primary. The Professional Standards for QTS ended the requirement to prepare all primary entrants to teach a specialist subject and since 2002 most specialist primary training has closed. Evidence gathered through the geography ITT network in 200868 indicated that the number had dwindled to less than five. This is likely to yield fewer than 50 primary geography NQTs in 2009. Therefore, ITT provides few able to take on the geography subject leader role in a primary school. 19. Most primary NQTs leave training with a cursory understanding of how to teach geography eVectively. Postgraduate trainees receive around ten hours of geography training, but it can be as low as six. Since many will not have studied geography since they were 14, this is insuYcient to provide them with the necessary understanding to teach the subject. 20. It is unsurprising, therefore, that in 2008 Ofsted reported,69 “Many geography coordinators have significant weaknesses in their subject knowledge” and primary teachers, “are not confident in their teaching of the subject”. The current ITT arrangements for primary are not redressing this and will not meet the aspirations in the Interim Report of the Rose Review70 that “high quality subject teaching must not disappear from primary schools.” 21. Teachers must be trained to meet the needs of the teaching workforce for the future. Examinations, such as a levels and diplomas, require teachers with secure subject understanding. The new Key Stage 3 curriculum and the interim primary review both emphasise the importance of subject expertise, while

62 See letter in Appendix 3. [Not printed.] 63 Quality and standards in secondary initial teacher training, Ofsted 2003, HMI 546. This is the latest published overview report of secondary ITT. However, Ofsted is on record for reporting that secondary ITT training has continued to improve in quality. 64 An employment-based route into teaching 2003–06, Ofsted January 2007, HMI 2664. 65 See paragraph 14. 66 This was before 2003, and before the recent round of university cuts and closures. 67 TDA Newly Qualiﬁed Teacher Survey for secondary geography 2004–08. 68 Email survey of ITT primary providers, September 2008. 69 Geography in schools: changing practice, Ofsted 2008 Ref 070044. 70 The Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum, Online Publications for Schools website, 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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expecting teachers to contribute to cross-curricular teams and to the interdisciplinary approach of the “big picture curriculum”. We must ensure that new teachers have secure subject knowledge from which to plan interdisciplinary lessons. 22. The Geographical Association recommends that ITT for primary teachers is revised radically to prepare new teachers to teach a curriculum organized through six areas of learning, while equipping every new teacher with the necessary specialist skills and understanding in at least one curriculum area.

The Delivery of ITT The role of higher education institutions and their distinctive contribution to provision 23. Universities make a strong, distinctive contribution to subject training. Tutors are informed by wide professional experience, reading and often by their own research. Their prime concern is students’ professional development and they provide a broad perspective on teaching pedagogy.They provide trainees with the opportunities to research discuss and experiment with classroom practice, often in several schools, so they can reﬂect on and evaluate their experiences. Increasingly universities oVer courses at Masters Level, supporting the move towards an all Masters profession. University geography tutors not only train high quality NQTs, they also contribute to teachers’ CPD, curriculum development and research. 24. Higher education is facing pressures that make their high quality contribution diYcult to maintain. In 2008 four secondary geography courses were closed because they were not viable after reductions in training places. When a course closes it not only aVects the supply of new teachers, it also means the loss of subject tutors’ and mentors’ expertise and reduced professional development opportunities for teachers. The number of primary geography tutors has been decimated in the last 15 years following course closures. The GA fears that similar trends are emerging in the secondary phase. We set out our concerns in a letter to the TDA in June 200671 warning that once tutors’ expertise was lost, it would be diYcult to restore. 25. When student numbers reduce, the ﬁnances mean that appointing a full-time tutor is not always feasible. Part-time tutors have little time to work closely with partner schools or to broaden their pedagogical expertise. It is diYcult to recruit good new geography tutors. ITT teaching in universities is regarded as a low status activity compared with research which handicaps tutors’ career prospects in the university environment. In recent years some experienced geography tutors have left ITT to advance their careers in schools. 26. The Geographical Association recommends action to halt the erosion of subject expertise in university ITT departments and to sustain high quality subject training in both initial training and continuing professional development.

The nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions 27. Good partnerships between schools and universities are essential to successful ITT training and the development of the teaching profession. Despite the considerable amount of teachers’ time and the resources that partnership demands, most are very successful. Schools provide day-to-day practical support and experience essential in the training process while university tutors provide breadth of experience and theoretical underpinning necessary for trainees to achieve the Standards. 28. The best partnerships go beyond initial training and contribute to CPD. For many teachers, ITT mentoring is a good way of developing and updating their own understanding of geography teaching and learning and being part of a professional network. 29. School-university partnerships in geography curriculum projects and school-based teacher research have been valuable spin-oVs from ITT involvement. The GA regrets that the Best Practice Research Scholarships were discontinued. It is hoped that the proposed Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) will strengthen subject partnerships. 30. The Geographical Association recommends that ways are sought to consolidate and continue to develop subject partnerships between universities and schools, particularly in respect to school-based research and the MTL.

Development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT 31. The GA participates in the TDA-funded Subject Resource Network with its GTIP Project which provides web-based support including a Journal for ITT geography tutors. Tutors have reported72 positively on the opportunities it oVers to share expertise, through “Think Pieces” and support for research and students’ assignments through an extensive bibliography. This has had an important role in supporting tutors as they develop courses to meet M-level demands and recent changes in schools.

71 See Letter in Appendix 4. [Not printed]. 72 GA survey to evaluate GTIP 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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32. There is a strong network of geography teacher educators who meet annually for a residential conference. This provides signiﬁcant professional development for geography tutors. 33. The Geographical Association recommends that funding for the subject resource networks is maintained so that subject associations can continue to support those involved in ITT.

Educational research in teacher education 34. The community of geography educators who can take a lead in research and curriculum development in geographical education is very small and declining. The proportion of tutors employed on part-time and teaching-only contracts have increased and they are rarely in a position to conduct research. There is no directly funded research in the ﬁeld of geography education. 35. It is important that higher education has the capacity to engage in research and take educational thinking forward in developing a curriculum to meet the challenging demands of the twenty-ﬁrst century. Without focused research into the eVectiveness of aspects of geography education and the insights this brings, teaching will be the poorer. 36. The Geographical Association recommends that ways are sought to enhance the capacity of universities to engage in geography education research, including the establishment of a research fund for subject-focussed education research.

CPD Provision How well current CPD provision enhances teachers’ practice in school 37. Increasingly CPD is school-based and focuses on generic teaching skills. Sources of specialist advice for subject teaching outside the core subjects have dramatically declined. In most local authorities there is no geography adviser, no opportunity for subject CPD and regular meetings of geographers have ceased. This has had a direct eVect on NQTs. One NQT interviewed as part of a GA project to assess the impact of CPD73 had received no subject-specific training in her induction year. This is not uncommon. 38. There is a strong consensus amongst teachers74 that the best way to develop their subject teaching is through working with other geography teachers to share ideas, plan together or observe each other teach. Teachers find this is more eVective in developing their subject teaching than one-day INSET sessions. 39. The GA provides support for teachers through its publications, journals, conferences and meetings. We recognise that teachers need to engage with like-minded colleagues who understand the intricacies of a subject for their professional development. We have used funding from the DCSF and others to establish a range of on-line networks to support teachers throughout their careers. We have also set up curriculum-led projects in which participants are “teacher-researchers” and have time to think deeply about the subject’s distinctive contribution to children’s learning. 40. Universities provide specialist support for geography teachers75 and CPD through action research and through studying for diplomas and higher degrees. This should become more significant with the development of teaching as a Masters profession. Many universities oVer MA credits for aspects of ITT courses, encouraging study towards a higher degree to continue through the early years of teaching. 41. Despite these initiatives, most secondary teachers do not have regular access to specialist subject support. The situation is even worse for primary teachers. Most geography subject leaders have no contact with others in similar roles and advisory support for geography is virtually non-existent. Older teachers remember GEST courses in the early 1990s to develop subject teaching skills76 and regret they have had very little geography training since. Recently, the TDA funded universities to run workshops through the Primary Subject Leaders Project. These were successful events and oversubscribed, illustrating the demand for subject-specific support. But two one-day workshops for each project only scrape the surface of a widespread need. 42. Primary teachers are well aware of Ofsted’s criticisms77 concerning the quality of primary geography teaching and are keen to develop their knowledge and understanding to teach the subject better, but they urgently need help to do so. 43. To date, the government’s CPD strategy has focussed on developing generic teaching and management skills. While important, it is time to improve teachers’ subject knowledge and pedagogy, in particular so they can contribute eVectively to new interdisciplinary courses. In March 2007,78 Jim Knight wrote to the TDA endorsing that subject-specific CPD should be a priority for 2007–11 and stating that, “The TDA should work with partners to ensure that the decline of subject specific CPD is reversed and that high quality subject CPD is widely available.” To date progress towards this goal with respect to geography

73 Assessing the impact of subject-focussed CPD: A Project Report for the Geographical Association Andrea Tapsﬁeld February 2007—available on the GA website. 74 See footnote19 and evaluations of DfID’s Enabling EVective Support project(s). 75 See paragraphs 23, 28 and 29 . 76 GEST courses were government-funded, twenty-day courses run jointly by local authorities and higher education to improve primary teachers’ subject knowledge and skills. 77 Geography in schools: changing practice, Ofsted 2008 Ref 070044. 78 Letter from Jim Knight, Minister of State for Schools to the TDA, March 2007. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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has been slow. However, DCSF initiatives such as the Action Plan for Geography and the “Support for Schools” programme at Key Stage 3 show how subject associations can play a strong role in providing subject-speciﬁc CPD. 44. The Geographical Association recommends that greater emphasis is given to implementing sustained, subject-speciﬁc professional development for teachers in order to achieve the government’s priority to make high quality subject CPD widely available. February 2009

APPENDICES79 1. “Training new geography teachers”, Andrea Tapsﬁeld, Teaching Geography, spring 2008. 2. Letter from the GA’s Teacher Education Working Group to the Chief Executive of the TDA, 16 March 2006. 3. Letter from the GA’s Teacher Education Working Group to the Chief Executive of the TDA, 20 April 2007. 4. Letter from the GA’s Teacher Education Working Group to the Chief Executive of the TDA, 16 June 2006.

Memorandum submitted by the Early Childhood Forum ECF is a voluntary organisation hosted by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB). It is a coalition of 56 professional associations, voluntary organisations and interest groups united in their concern about the care and education of young children from birth to eight. The Forum’s geographical remit is England, although it is recognised that member organisations may have a wider sphere of work. ECF has ﬁve central areas of work which form the basis of its policy agenda: — Championing children’s rights and entitlements. — Supporting training, development and education of early childhood practitioners and all who work with children and their families. — Working in partnership — Addressing inequalities and valuing diversity. — Evaluating practice and ensuring quality.

ECF Views to be Considered by the Committee The Early Childhood Forum is concerned about the extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession in relation to early years. In particular, the Forum believes that there should be one clear training route in early years from birth to seven which would not only cover the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) but the transition of children from EYFS into Key Stage 1. The importance of attachment and bonding needs to be an essential element of birth to seven training.80 Working with parents needs to be an essential element of ITT for all teachers as should inclusion training. Trainee teachers need to have an opportunity to discuss issues and how they aVect/influence their practice.81 The current CPD provision for experienced teachers and head teachers needs to more systematically support the embedding of the Early Years Foundation Stage from birth to five. CPD is required urgently for all existing teachers working in early years to ensure they have the essential knowledge of child development birth to three; without which it is diYcult to see how teachers in early years have a “full and relevant qualification”. At present, the take up of EYFS training is not consistent across England with wide variations across local authorities, it needs to be a requirement for all Heads to access EYFS training. The Forum is aware of the practice of teachers being moved across age groups in primary schools. Teachers who are trained to teach older children may be working with children as young as four, with no deep understanding of young children’s development and the principles and commitments of the EYFS. Headteachers and all teachers within the primary phase need to have a good knowledge and understanding of the EYFS.

79 Appendices not printed. 80 Please see ECF attachment statement (attached to submission e-mail). [Not printed]. 81 Please see ECF inclusion statement (attached to submission e-mail). [Not printed]. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Early Childhood Forum Members 4children Action for Children Association of Educational Psychologists (AEP) Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) British Association of Community Child Health (BACCH) Campaign for Advancement of State Education (CASE) Children in Scotland (CiS) Children’s Society Children in Wales (CiW) Children’s Links Council for Awards in Children’s Care and Education (CACHE) Council for Disabled Children (CDC) Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) Daycare Trust (DCT) Early Childhood Studies Degrees Network Early Education Early Years (formally NIPPA) Early Years Equality (EYE) Fatherhood Institute (formally Fathers Direct) (co-opted member) Forum for Maintained Nursery Schools High/Scope UK ICAN Learning Through Landscapes (LTL) Local Authority Early Years Network (LAEYN) Mencap Montessori Education UK National Association of Education Inspectors, Advisors & Consultants (ASPECT) National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) National Association for Primary Education (NAPE) National Association of Nurseries in Colleges & Universities (NANCU) National Autistic Society (NAS) National Children’s Bureau (NCB) National Campaign for Nursery Education (NCNE) National Childminding Association (NCMA) National Council for Parent Teacher Associations (NCPTA) National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) National Network Of Children’s Information Services (NACIS) National Portage Association (NPA) National Union Teachers (NUT) Parenting UK Parents for Inclusion Play England (formally Children’s Play Council) Preschool Learning Alliance (PLA) REU (formerly Race Equality Unit) Refugee Council Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) Save the Children (SCF) Scope Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship (SWSF) Training, Advancement & Co-operation in Teaching Young Children (TACTYC) UNISON Voice—Union for Education Professionals (formally PAT/PANN) What About the Children (WATCh) World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) Young Minds February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics is a scientiﬁc charity devoted to increasing the practice, understanding and application of physics. It has a worldwide membership of over 36,000 and is a leading communicator of physics-related science to all audiences, from specialists through to government and the general public. Its publishing company, IOP Publishing, is a world leader in scientiﬁc publishing and the electronic dissemination of physics. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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It has worked closely with several Initial Teacher Training (ITT) providers and with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) on a range of projects in ITT and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) over many years, and is currently actively engaged on a number of recruitment and retention projects, such as the Physics Enhancement Project (PEP) and the Science Additional Specialism Project (SASP) with the support of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. The Institute welcomes the opportunity to submit a response to the House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee’s Inquiry into ITT and CPD. Our response highlights the Institute’s concerns about the capacity of the ITT system to support physics education in terms of both quantity of entrants and quality of their subject knowledge, and outlines remedial measures on which it is more than happy to work with TDA and other bodies.

Executive Summary for Recommendations The current ITE and CPD system suVers from a number of systematic faults which for many subjects serve to inhibit the recruitment and ongoing training of adequately qualiﬁed teachers. In the case of physics, through a concurrence of factors, they serve to prolong and exacerbate the existing shortage of physics teachers in schools. Many of these comments we believe would also apply equally well to chemistry. The TDA has begun to address some of these problems, but further decisive intervention is needed or else we will have to confront the worsening of an already serious situation. We would urge the following actions to be undertaken: — The survey and reform of Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) application systems to avoid unnecessary wastage and delay. — The TDA to take strategic steps to encourage Higher Education Institutions (HEI) to market their courses more eVectively and to work with HEIs to enable them to take a step change in capacity for physical science trainees. — The transformation of the teacher placements system, trialling the use of innovative techniques such as paired placements, or multiple placements at clusters of schools. — The migration of the CPD structures from a predominantly centre based system towards more of an outreach model based on schools. In our remarks below we have not attempted to address all the issues raised, but limited ourselves to the most pressing ones. The comments are largely directed at post-graduate routes into teacher training as undergraduate courses form less than 3% of the total entry into secondary physics teaching.

Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT 1. The characteristics of those most likely to be good teachers are an ability to relate to children, an ability to communicate clearly,a sound subject knowledge or the potential to acquire it, and an enthusiasm for one’s subject. The current entry requirements consist firstly of a degree with suitable physics content, a grade C in both English and mathematics at GCSE, and an interview. 2. Evidence from ITT tutors suggests that providers diVer greatly in what they consider to be a suitable degree. GTTR statistics suggest that about 40% of successful applicants to physics PGCE courses do not possess a physics degree, but typically an engineering or general science one. Of those about 20% will have undertaken a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) course, but the remaining 20% of the cohort will not, and therefore are unlikely to remediate the gaps in their knowledge during an ITT course. Instead it is commonly assumed that the trainee will acquire the necessary knowledge over the early period of their teaching career. 3. More seriously, the majority of biology and chemistry trainees will be required to teach physics up to Key Stage 3, and many up to Key Stage 4, tasks for which their training will not have prepared them. The 2007 survey by NFER found that only 19% of science teachers were physics specialists and that 26% of 11–16 schools had no physics specialist. 4. This is clearly unsatisfactory and places pupils at a disadvantage. The situation has gained tacit acceptance in schools partly because of its prevalence, and also from what we believe is a fundamental misconception that there is no distinct subject specific related pedagogy for the sciences. This is the first instance of a situation, which we will refer to again, where the shortage of physics specialists in schools and the limitations of the ITT system serve to reinforce each other’s negative eVects. 5. We applaud the TDA’s initiative in introducing six month pre-ITT SKE courses in physics, chemistry and mathematics and feel that they provide an essential extra route into ITT. In the last three years they have provided about 25% of physics trainees. We welcome the TDA’s new streamlined formula for funding ITT that enables more providers to oVer SKE courses of various lengths, but have a concern that although six month courses might well be suYcient to remediate gaps in subject knowledge, the shorter ones may not, Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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and there is no externally agreed standard or accreditation by which subject knowledge is assessed, in marked contrast to, say, degree accreditation. The Institute is developing a self-assessment subject knowledge tool and would hope that it would gain acceptance by ITT providers and trainees. 6. The entry requirement of an interview is also problematic. ITT tutors have reported that the GTTR system is inherently slow, and frustrating for candidates, and feel that some eligible trainees may well have been lost as a result of delays. The GTTR process asks applicants to rank providers in order, allowing providers 28 days to reply whether they wish to invite the candidate for interview, or to reject them. If they do invite them for interview, the provider has a further 28 days to hold the interview, and inform GTTR of the results. If unsuccessful the application is then passed on to the next provider and so on. Since this process could, in principle, take place four times, the entire procedure could last eight months,(though there is a faster “clearing” facility for those applying from July onwards). 7. In addition, some providers require a higher degree class than others, and yet this is not always apparent to applicants, so an applicant with poorer qualiﬁcations could wait a long time to be rejected four times. We believe this system is unacceptably slow, and opaque, and would urge that serious consideration be given to trialling a concurrent application system, akin to the general UCAS one for undergraduate courses. This might be initially unpopular with tutors, but would, we believe reduce their workload in the long run . 8. The GTTR application system appears to be inherently inﬂexible. When SKE six-month pre-ITT courses were introduced in 2004, an attempt was made to include them in the GTTR system. This had to be abandoned for various reasons, as the consequent delays threatened to compromise the entire recruitment process. We would therefore urge that a review of the software systems be considered given the increasing prevalence of SKE courses.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 9. We strongly welcome the prioritisation of training places for shortage subjects such as physics, the continued ﬁnancial incentives oVered by the TDA to applicants, and the recruitment premiums of £2000 payable to providers. We are also strongly in favour of the TDA’s requirement that, from 2008–09, all secondary science ITT students will be classiﬁed by their subject specialism. Without these measures, we believe that the current shortfall of trainees would be even more severe. Our estimates agree with those of Smithers and Robinson1 (2005) and those quoted by DCSF in that roughly 750 physics trainees would be required each year to begin to reach government targets. This compares with the current average of under 400. While some of that gap may be bridged with the in-service conversion courses for biology teachers, the SASP courses, there still remains a frightening shortfall in that it is expected that around a third of current physics specialists will retire in the next ten years. 10. We have concerns about the TDA’s model of place allocation to providers, which is roughly based on precedent from previous years. We believe a more strategic approach is required to encourage certain centres to introduce a step change in their admissions (see paragraph 21)

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualiﬁcations, skills and attributes to become good teachers 11. We believe that the current range of routes, including the newer SKE courses, Transition to Teach, and the distance learning courses run by iTeach now form an increasingly comprehensive set of routes. We do however have concerns about quality assurance in terms of subject knowledge (see paragraph 5) 12. In terms of attracting potential teachers, we think that many HEI providers are unaware of the possibilities or unable to exploit the opportunities to market their courses, of whatever type. Due to pressures of time or lack of expertise, a signiﬁcant number of tutors to whom we have spoken do little more than wait for applications to come through GTTR. Others acknowledge that their own personal workload acts as a major disincentive to do seek out more trainees. Those used to having to recruit for six-month SKE courses, such as the PEP, typically use a much greater range of methods, ranging from adverts in local papers, to evening marketing meetings using former participants. There are thus many untapped opportunities. Six month SKE courses have been set up in many regions, and many science graduates who would not otherwise be eligible for a PGCE course in physics can now attend those before going on to a standard PGCE course elsewhere. However very few physics (or chemistry) providers advertise this fact on their own websites. We hope to be able to work with the TDA and others to increase the marketing expertise of tutors.

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession 13. As noted (paragraph 3), ITT courses in science have the impossible task of preparing the trainee not just in one subject, but in two subsidiary ones to KS3 or beyond. This is a burden which is not imposed on trainees in any other subject to our knowledge. We believe that this is impossible, and is honoured more in the breach than the observance. It should be acknowledged that subject knowledge and associated pedagogy is not complete at the end of ITT, and can be developed in the early years of a teachers’ career. Teachers Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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should be incentivised for doing so, and suitably accredited, and we think there is a role for the learned societies in that. The alternative is that two-year PGCE courses become increasingly common, but we doubt that the suYcient trainees would have the motivation or ﬁnancial resources to make this viable.

The Delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 14. We do not believe the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity at grassroots level. We have serious concerns that many HEI based ITT tutors have an impossible workload, caught as they are between conflicting research and Ofsted inspection demands. On a number of occasions, we have found that tutors are severely limited in their ability to accept any new challenges. Citing just one example, when the TDA launched the national rollout of the PEP project in 2007, it struggled to find enough HEIs to tender, with only seven bids being received for the seven courses. None of the bidders came from the higher quality Category A providers and, privately, such tutors confided that the extra would have either compromised their research or the care of their existing students. 15. The TDA’s use of a model of competitive tendering for such bids is thus barely viable, indicating the weakness of the entire sector, a situation which initially surprised us, but now has grown uncomfortably familiar. To quote another example, for one of our major curriculum resource projects we approached a number of ITT tutors, but in the end very few had the negotiable time to be able to develop the materials.

16. We note that despite these diYculties, modest innovation does still occur, for example in patterns of placements (Reading University), or local collaboration between PGCE tutors to refer suitable candidates for SKE courses (Bradford College). Most innovation however appears to be externally funded by charitable organisations such the Gatsby Foundation, who have pioneered mentoring schemes, subject speciﬁc tutoring, extended PGCE courses, and schemes for ex-servicemen amongst others.

17. We welcome the TDA’s own initiative in trialling and promoting distance learning approaches, such as the iTeach scheme, and would welcome its wider adoption after suitable evaluation. We also welcome the TDA’s partnership with the IOP itself in a number of schemes.

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 18. We have, as discussed, serious practical concerns about the role of HEIs in ITT, associated with tutor workload and other issues which we discuss below. Without doubt, however, HEIs provide an invaluable environment where educational research can be translated into practice. We believe that despite the tensions between roles, the possibility of research is a motivating and enriching factor for some ITT tutors, contributing substantially to their retention. The educational sector also requires that pilot projects in ITT be evaluated, and HEIs provide a crucial role in this respect, as only research trained staV have the necessary speciﬁc skills.

19. We cannot envisage a system that had training centred purely in schools or even groups of schools. The problem is one of scale, in that universities provide a suYciently large centre for training activities to be conducted in groups, and for contact with a whole range of external organisations, including the TDA. As hubs, they can also relate to an adequate number of schools for placements.

20. However, we would wish that ITT departments within universities were able to exercise more autonomy over the funding the HEI receives on their behalf. Anecdotally at least half the tutors questioned reported that they had signiﬁcant diYculty in reclaiming from their HEI the incentive funding that comes from the TDA for physical science trainees. Where tutors have been able to do so, they have typically hired administrative assistants to help process applications, and secure school placements, thus signiﬁcantly lightening the tutors’ workloads.

21. In order to meet the required target of 750 trainees we have advocated to the TDA the concept of encouraging certain HEI pre-emptively to hire more staV, and secure more placements to cater for say 40 physics trainees, rather than the current observed maximum of 20 which is typical of the larger education departments. The TDA’s new formula for funding would enable these numbers to be maintained in these “super-centres”, and the TDA has the mechanism of an eVective loan for the pump-priming phase. The need pre-emptively to recruit staV is paramount. To expect existing staV to cope with larger numbers is simply infeasible for the reasons stated.

22. We feel that ITT departments in HEIs are in fact under-exploited in another way. There is often minimal contact between an academic physics department, and the education department, leading to lost opportunities in terms of recruitment of trainees, and a whole host of collaborative outreach opportunities to schools. We would welcome the opportunity to pilot a scheme that brought departments closer together in this way. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 23. ITT tutors frequently report a lack of placements and severe competition between providers for the same schools as a serious problem. The shortage of physics specialists in schools results in a lack of suitable school mentors, and hence suitable placements. This in turn inhibits tutors from making additional eVort in recruitment, establishing a classic positive feedback system, which, once established, is hard to break.

24. We welcome initiatives such as the TDA’s Partnership Development Schools (PDS) Cluster Project (due to ﬁnish in March 2009), where groups of schools and an HEI collaborate to training staV with one science specialism to be able to mentor a placement student in a diVerent specialism. We also note early trials of a group placement project at Reading University, where six trainees are allocated as a group to three schools for diVerent days of the week. This enables each school to have the full range of science specialists present, it helps trainees coach each other, and enables the HEI tutor to visit the trainees more eYciently.

The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings 25. We are concerned that there is a paucity of opportunity for those who work in HEIs. In many HEIs, a new ITT tutor is recruited from a teaching background, and is expected to start to undertake research, and in some cases acquire a PhD, within a certain number of years. In addition they are expected to acquire the distinctive skills of teaching adults, for which their school based experience is often little or no preparation. We note that many but not all institutions are supportive in these regards, but that there appears to be no formal framework to ensure that this training is itself carried out properly.

26. We note the work of the Association of Tutors in Science Education (ATSE), in providing a support network for science tutors, and the funding that the TDA has, until recently, given ATSE to allow new tutors to attend conferences for free, and to develop their section of the Teacher Training Resource Bank (TTRB). However, it has become clear that the organisation is struggling to maintain membership numbers. Tutors report that it is diYcult if not impossible to attend external meetings due to their institution’s policies and where they do, they will prioritise research based conferences, attendance at which might contribute to their research proﬁle.

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 27. The IOP provides a range of CPD experiences, ranging from mentoring support for trainees and Newly Qualiﬁed Teachers (NQTs) in the PEP project, (recommended for adoption on a national scale in the Sainsbury Review of Science and Innovation2), through traditional residential courses, to the 2,500 teacher- days of twilight sessions at school sites provided by the serving teacher members of our Teacher Network in 2008. We would recommend a wider adoption of this outreach model, as it overcomes the reluctance of schools to release staV and pay supply cover. The feedback from these is uniformly good or excellent, but focuses on the teachers’ own perceptions.

28. Many schools construct barriers to subject-related CPD and use most of their resources for general, in-school, development. There needs to be either a right or an obligation to carry out subject-related work. It is possible that professional bodies such as the Institute, could help as they are often familiar with accreditation of professional practice in determining chartered status.

29. An important group for CPD are the teachers who are the hardest to reach, perhaps because they are teaching a subject in which they have no conﬁdence or because they struggle, for whatever reason, to get out of school. The Institute has made enormous progress over the last two years in this respect, both through its Teacher Network and the HEFCE-funded Stimulating Physics programme. In the latter, working with clusters of schools, in three regions and using Regional Advisers, we have managed to reach and engage non- specialist teachers in all the schools. We are keen to take this work further, possibly in collaboration with the DCSF.

30. The Stimulating Physics programme demonstrated that working with all the non-specialist (and some specialist) teachers in a department is a more eVective way of embedding a culture of physics than taking individual teachers to an oV-site centre. A non-specialist teacher returning from a day of CPD is unlikely to have the conﬁdence and competence in the subject to cascade new ideas to colleagues.

31. The Institute has worked with the DCSF and Science Learning Centres on the issue of encouraging girls to take physics. The evaluation found that, to embed innovation and changes in practice, CPD is made more eVective by providing a follow-up period of reﬂection or action research in school which is itself followed up by the CPD provider. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. 32. Teacher Network keeps statistics as above, and tracking of spending is easy. The network delivers what we believe is exceptional value as there are no building associated costs, and very few overheads. StaV are paid for working four extra hours a week, and travel and subsistence expenses. January 2009

References [1] Smithers, A. and Robinson, P. (2005) p 50 Physics in Schools and Colleges, Centre for Education and Employment Research, University of Buckingham. [2] HM Treasury (2007), Lord Sainsbury of Turville, p 101, recommendation 7.2, The Race to the Top, A Review of Government’s Science and Innovation Policies.

Memorandum submitted by the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) Summary 1. Teacher training in Catholic and other Christian universities and colleges is essential for the existence of the Voluntary Aided Schools Sector. This includes initial teacher education (ITE), as well as ongoing professional development (CPD). 2. The diversity of teacher training provision in England and Wales is a major strength of the system because it enables students to choose the type of teacher training institution in which they want to study. Church colleges, including Catholic colleges form an important part of this diversity. 3. Catholic teacher training institutions enable trainee teachers to develop the knowledge, skills, understandings and values necessary for teaching in schools informed by Catholic teaching. Students have the opportunity to study for the Catholic Certiﬁcate in Religious Studies (CCRS) which gives a basic grounding in Catholic teaching. It is, therefore, vital that the TDA’s system for allocating teacher training places continues to take account of the denominational balance. 4. CPD provision needs to take account of the need to develop suitable candidates for the roles of head teacher, deputy head teacher and head of RE in Catholic schools. 5. There is a need to ensure the continued strength of theology departments in Catholic HEIs and to main places for PGCE secondary courses in Catholic HEIs.

1. Introduction 1.1 The Catholic Church has a long tradition of involvement in the provision of initial teacher education in England. Catholic HEIs play a pivotal role in providing higher education, training teachers for Catholic schools and providing ongoing professional development. Catholic HEIs have taken steps to widen participation in HE in general and in teaching in particular. For example, about 25% of all students at Newman University College are Catholic and about 11% of students are Asian.

2. Catholic Provision of Teacher Training 2.1 There are three distinctly Catholic HEIs which provide teacher education courses, including the Catholic Certificate in Religious Education (CCRS), as well as CPD in England. They are: — Leeds Trinity and All Saints is a Higher Education Institution with just under 3,000 students. It runs primary PGCE courses and Secondary PGCE in Business Studies, English, History, Mathematics, MFL, and RE. It has just started an MA in Education for serving teachers. The college received a glowing report from its latest Quality Assurance Agency Institutional Audit Report (2003). It has “good” Ofsted scores for its primary teacher-training programmes. 100% of newly qualified Primary Education teachers surveyed who trained there rated their training as very good or good (TDA NQT Survey 2007) — Newman University College, Birmingham which has an excellent record for the quality of its courses. It oVers undergraduate programmes leading to QTS status in Early Years education (3–7) and Key Stage 2/3 (age 7–14). It also provides PGCEs in primary education, 7–14 education, secondary PGCE courses in English, citizenship, PE and RE and as well as graduate, registered, overseas trained teacher programmes. In recent years very positive inspection reports have been received from the QAA and Ofsted, including an “outstanding” grade, for its latest inspection. The relatively small class sizes at Newman enable an interactive teaching style and the staV to student ratio enables students to have individual attention and support. — St Mary’s University College, Twickenham is identified by Ofsted as a high-quality provider of initial teacher training. It oVers undergraduate courses leading to QTS in primary education and secondary PE. It also provides PGCE courses leading to QTS in primary education and secondary subjects, including applied ICT, Business Education, and Geography. Health and Social Care, Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Mathematics, Modern Languages, Religious Education and Science. The secondary course is recognised by Ofsted for the quality of tuition, and also of support given to trainees: “The calibre of training in the University College and its schools is exceptional”. All courses have successfully been inspected by Ofsted in the last three years and are seen as of good or very good quality. St Mary’s University College also has a long and successful tradition of providing Masters programmes for serving teachers, including a unique MA in Catholic School Leadership. 2.2 There are also a number of HEIs with Christian foundations ongoing Catholic connections providing initial teacher education. These include: — Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool; http://www.hope.ac.uk/ — Roehampton University, London. http://www.roehampton.ac.uk/ 2.3 Additionally, Maryvale Institute, Birmingham oVers a PGCE in Religious Studies and the Catholic Certiﬁcate in Religious Studies (CCRS). The CCRS is also provided through other institutions, including Ushaw College, which is linked to the University of Durham.

3. Teacher Training and Catholic Schools 3.1 Teacher training provision needs to take account of the needs of Catholic schools. Catholic primary schools constitute 10% of the maintained state sector and educate a little over 10% of primary pupils. Catholic secondary schools constitute 10% of the maintained secondary sector and educate a little fewer than10% of secondary age pupils. Catholic schools are well regarded by parents and perform very well in Ofsted inspections and are noted for their ethnic diversity which is greater than in other maintained schools. The Catholic ethos of the school is one of the contributory factors to the success of these schools. 3.2 Catholic schools have particular requirements of the teacher training system and of CPD provision. As well as high quality primary and secondary teachers, these include a supply of: — primary teachers who understand the Catholic ethos and can teach RE and PSCHE from a Catholic perspective; — secondary RE and PSCHE teachers who can teach these subjects from a Catholic perspective; — teachers who can bring the lens of a faith perspective to work in their own subject and to their pastoral roles across the school and in support of the Children’s Plan. — head teachers, deputy head teachers and heads of RE who are practicing Catholics. 3.3 Catholic schools are not always able to meet these requirements as the annual Catholic Education Service for England and Wales (CESEW) survey for 2007 reveals. (Catholic Education Service for England and Wales: Digest of 2007 Census Data for Schools and Colleges.) The major issues are: — There are insuYcient numbers of qualiﬁed RE teachers in Catholic Schools. In 2007, the proportion of specialist RE teachers in primary schools in England was 5% and 7% in secondary schools. — Some Catholic schools have diYculty recruiting head teachers. In 2007, 6% of Catholic Primary Schools had acting heads and 3.6% of secondary head teachers were acting heads. 3.4 In the light of the needs of Catholic schools and evidence available, the CESEW requests that the Parliamentary Inquiry into Teacher Training take note of the following points. I. There is a need to ensure that those wishing to teach in the Catholic primary sector have an opportunity to study in a Catholic HEI. At present, in allocating places for teacher training, whether ITT or post graduate study towards QTS, the TDA states it takes account of the quality of the provider and denominational needs. Out of 14,860 primary places the TDA allocated for teacher training in 2008–09, 718 (4.83%) places went to the three Catholic HEIs, all of which are category B providers. (See Table 1) Catholic schools, however, educate a little fewer than 10% of primary pupils. There is, therefore, a need to maintain the denominational balance in the allocation of places for primary ITT. II. As Table 2 shows, at present, Catholic HEIs oVer a range of subjects at secondary level. However, as Table 2 also shows the full range of subjects is not available across the totality of the distinctively Catholic HEIs (Leeds Trinity and All Saints, Newman University College and St Mary’s University College). Some subjects such as drama are not available and other subjects such as geography are only available in one institution. In order to have a supply of Catholic subject leaders able to teach their subject through the lens of faith and to oVer pastoral guidance to pupils, the allocation of subjects and places needs to take greater account of denominational and geographic factors. III. Primary teachers in Catholic schools need to have suYcient training in RE to teach the subject. Primary ITT courses, therefore, need to ensure that suYcient time is given to RE. This will be especially important in the light of the “Rose Review” of primary education. Places for secondary RE PGCE courses at Catholic HEIs need to be maintained. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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IV. The development of teaching as a Masters profession as outlined in the Children’s Plan has implications for Catholic schools and providers. If the intention is to ensure that all entrants to the profession will have a Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) within five years, new entrants will need the opportunity to study for this qualification in a context that takes account of the distinctive ethos and mission of Catholic schools. Due consideration should therefore be given to enabling new entrants to choose an MTL that best reflects their own needs and those of the school. V. Catholic HEIs also need to be able to support high quality theology courses in order to train suYcient graduates. VI. Opportunities also need to be available for teachers in Catholic schools who do not hold the Catholic Certificate of Religious Studies (CCRS) to study for this qualification. VII. As Table 3 shows, the allocation of secondary RE places in catholic providers is reducing and the geographical distribution of these places does not reflect the demand. Places on secondary RE PGCE courses at Catholic HEIs need to be reviewed and at least maintained, if not increased. VIII. Systems for CPD should support suitable candidates in developing the skills necessary for leadership at all levels including headship.

4. Responses to the Parliamentary Inquiry Questions 4.1 In relation to the speciﬁc questions in the Parliamentary Inquiry, the CESEW would like to draw attention to the follow issues.

4.2 Entry into the Teaching Profession 4.2.1 The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level The diversity of provision is a major strength of the system and helps to ensure good quality entrants to the teaching profession. Catholic HEIs and church colleges in general have played a signiﬁcant role in this provision. In order to ensure a supply of trained Catholic primary teachers, the allocation of primary places needs to take account of the denominational balance. In order to ensure a supply of Catholic subject leaders who can teach their subject through the lens of faith and teachers who can provide pastoral support, the allocation of ITT places should enable trainees to opt to study secondary subjects at Catholic teacher training institutions. The allocation of places, therefore, needs to take account of denominational needs as well as geographical issues.

4.2.2 The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances). There is a need to ensure that primary ITT courses prepare students to teach RE and PSCHE. Where there is insuYcient time in a one year course, CPD needs to be made available for serving teachers. This is especially important in relation to the need to promote community cohesion.

4.3. The Delivery of ITT 4.31 The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision HEIs make a distinctive contribution to ITT. They help to set initial teacher education within the context of an academic and pedagogical community that links schools and HEIs. HEIs enable trainees to draw on professional research, much of which is school based.

4.4 CPD Provision 4.4.1 Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school 4.4.1a There is a need for eVective CPD for teachers at all levels of development. Catholic HEIs are engaged in high quality research which informs CPD. This stimulates ideas, informs the agenda, sets high standards to which others aspire and helps Catholic schools to be the high quality places that they are. Catholic HEIs are oVering MAs in the leadership of Catholic schools and other training to develop leaders for Catholic schools. The introduction of Master level credits within the PGCE programme reinforces their intellectual rigour, as well as supporting the development of eVective classroom practice within and beyond the initial stages of teacher education. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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4.1.1b It is very diYcult to quantify or classify CPD provision as increasingly schools are being encouraged to look to their own resources in the form of observation, coaching and mentoring rather than rely on external provision. The advent of performance management and the professional standards for teachers and occupational standards for the rest of the school workforce means that identiﬁcation of need (individual and school) should be better as should the identiﬁcation of how best to meet those needs through CPD.

4.1.1c The TDA’s CPD Leadership Project and the EVective CPD Project should help schools evaluate the impact of CPD. However, evaluation is far from easy and Ofsted in their 2005 report on CPD identiﬁed this as one of the areas that needed support. Impact analysis remains a challenge, particularly because the results of CPD can take time to emerge.

4.4.1d The place of accredited CPD provision in the form of TDA funded PPD and the growth of school- based Masters programmes are indicators of the growing importance teachers and schools place on accredited CPD. Impact evaluations undertaken by St Mary’s University College support the importance of sustained and teacher-focused Masters provision and reveal the impact of such CPD on pupil performance.

4.4.2 The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. This is a very diYcult area. All funding for CPD is delegated to the schools and schools do not necessarily have a clear accounting line labeled CPD. Attending some training events, for example, may not come out as CPD and supply cover may absorb some of the CPD budget.

Table 1 ALLOCATION OF PRIMARY ITT PLACES Quality Based Allocation 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 Institution Category (14,860 places) (15,469 places) (15,847 places)

Leeds Trinity and All Saints B 152 152 152 Newman University College B 218 233 238 St Mary’s University College B 348 348 348 Totals 718 733 738 Liverpool Hope B 476 476 476 Roehampton University B 515 515 515

Table 2 TDA ALLOCATION OF SECONDARY PLACES TO CATHOLIC PROVIDERS 2008–09 Subject Leeds Leeds Maryvale Newman St Mary’s Liverpool Roehampton Trinity SCITT Institute University University Hope University and All College College Saints

Art and Design 000000 11 Business Studies 17 0 0 0 12 0 15 Citizenship 0 0 0 18 0 0 0 Design and Technology 040000 0 English 19 0 0 25 25 29 Geography 0000100 0 Health and Social Care 0000200 0 History 16 0 0 0 23 18 ICT and applied ICT 48 10 0 0 0 20 0 Mathematics 48 0 0 25 50 50 23 MFL 39 0 0 19 20 33 16 Music 040002219 PE 0 0 0 18 0 23 0 RE 4201519214620 Science 0 10 45 30 55 24 Total 229 24 15 169 151 297 175 Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Table 3 TDA ALLOCATION OF SECONDARY RE PLACES TO CATHOLIC PROVIDERS

Provider Name 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11

St Mary’s University College 21 19 18 Newman University College 19 18 18 Leeds Trinity and All Saints College 42 38 36 Liverpool Hope University 46 45 45 Roehampton University 20 18 17 Total 148 138 134

February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Summary — High quality school leadership makes a diVerence. It plays a key role in improving pupil outcomes and school performance. — School leadership today covers a wide range of responsibilities and tasks. England has the second most devolved system in the world, meaning that school leaders here have greater autonomy than elsewhere. Furthermore, the scope and intensity of the role has grown significantly in recent years with increased demands and expectations placed on school leaders. As a result, schools face increasingly complex management challenges and leaders need additional skills to tackle them. — As a result, the traditional model of the lone head who is responsible and accountable for everything has become increasingly untenable. The focus is increasingly on developing strong teams and utilising the skills of our best school leaders to improve all schools. — There are significant demographic challenges as the post war ‘baby boomer’ generation of school leaders reaches retirement in the next three to four years. — The next generation of school leaders is likely to be younger and less experienced at a time when demands and expectations of the role are increasing. — High quality professional development, and training which recognises the key skills and aptitudes required to be a successful school leader in a 21st century school is crucial in supporting current school leaders and growing the next generation of leaders. — This CPD must be about more than attending traditional courses. Powerful professional development is achieved through: learning on the job; support and guidance from credible peers; experience of other schools and contexts; and opportunities for reflection and challenge, supported by high quality resources and facilitation. — NCSL’s leadership development provision seeks to address these challenges. The evidence that it is making a diVerence to leadership eVectiveness and pupil outcomes is now very clear. The rate of improvement for schools most engaged with our leadership development programmes was four times that of non engaged schools and Ofsted inspection outcomes for schools engaged with our core programmes show that leadership of the head teacher was judged to be excellent, very good or good in 91% of schools.

1. Introduction 1.1 The National College for School Leadership (the College/NCSL) is a non-departmental public body, reporting directly to the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). NCSL was launched in November 2000 and is responsible for developing excellent leadership in England’s schools and children’s centres. It exists to serve school leaders and improve school leadership through the highest quality professional development, strategic initiatives and by providing considered and informed advice to government. 1.2 This submission deals with: the provision of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for head teachers and aspiring head teachers by the College; the evidence of impact that engagement by school leaders in NCSL’s programmes can have on leadership eVectiveness and pupil outcomes; and some of the recent and planned developments for our provision going forward. 1.3 In particular the submission focuses on the importance of developing and supporting successful school leadership practice as the range of responsibilities changes and increases, and the need to identify and develop leadership potential in aspiring school leaders. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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1.4 We conclude by considering the current policy agenda, in particular the Children’s Plan and the vision for 21st Century Schools, and the implications for the future professional development, training and support of school leaders.

2. Context 2.1 There are approximately sixty two thousand teachers with leadership roles in schools, about 16% of all teachers.82 Of these, 22,000 are heads, with 17,200 in primary and nursery schools and 3,400 in secondary schools. The remaining 1,400 are largely leading special schools and pupil referral units. There are 11,900 deputies and 6,000 assistant heads in primary schools, with 5,500 deputies and 11,400 assistant heads in secondary schools.

2.2 In addition, almost all schools except the very smallest primaries now include a range of other leadership roles, including: heads of year, key stage and subjects, Special Education Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), English as an Additional Language (EAL) coordinators, inclusion managers and School Business Managers.

2.3 Demographic data indicates that in March 2007 60% of head teachers were aged over 50 and 28% were aged over 55. Some 43% of deputy and assistant headteachers were also over 50. The number of retiring head teachers will peak in 2009. Replacing these headteachers will pose a signiﬁcant recruitment challenge that will persist through until at least 2011 since there are far fewer teachers in their late 30s and 40s working in schools.

2.4 The new generation of school leaders is therefore likely to be younger and less experienced. The average age of appointment to a ﬁrst headship is currently around 38 for primary heads and 41 for secondary heads. This is at a time when the demands and expectations on the role are increasing. This new generation will therefore require sustained investment in leadership development, mentoring and support if standards of achievement and well-being are not to fall.

3. What is Effective School Leadership? 3.1 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD 2008 Improving School Leadership Volume, Policy and Practice) has described eVective school leadership as essential to improving teaching and learning in schools, and a key means of connecting the individual school with the world beyond.

3.2 The core purpose of eVective school leadership is improving student learning and progress and developing and maintaining the quality of teaching. There is a well developed evidence base which shows that eVective school leadership has a signiﬁcant impact on schools and learning outcomes. International reviews assert that leadership is second only to classroom teaching in its impact on student learning. “We know from our inspection data that for every 100 schools that have good leadership and management, 93 will have good standards of achievement. For every 100 schools that do not have good leadership and management only one will have good standards of achievement. There is not a single example of a school turning around its performance in the absence of good leadership.” (DCSF 2008)

3.3 Leadership’s impact on pupils is largely mediated via teachers’ classroom interactions. We know that high performing school systems are characterised by: getting the right people to become teachers; developing them into eVective instructors; and ensuring the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child (Barber & Mourshed, McKinsey’s & Co, 2007). It follows that eVective leadership is focussed on the quality of teaching and priorities must include: getting the right teachers and wider staV to become leaders; developing their skills in leading learning and prioritising this work; and building a school culture in which teachers and wider staV can learn from each other. But school leadership also encompasses a range of other skills and activities that impact on student learning and outcomes, including: leading by example; setting direction, vision and values; managing change; and developing people.

3.3 However, expectations of schools are changing. With the advent of the Every Child Matters and Extended Schools agenda as well as developments such as the 14–19 diplomas, schools are increasingly expected to look outwards and collaborate together to secure choice, narrow the gap and support wider well- being related outcomes. The 21st Century Schools consultation paper (DCSF 2008) takes this further, setting out a vision for 21st century schooling in which collaboration with other schools and agencies becomes the norm. This vision means that school leaders are now required to develop additional skills and will need to be more outward facing, developing partnerships and working cooperatively with other agencies such as social services, health care professionals and the local community.

82 Seventeenth Report Part One—2008 (STRB, 2008) p 90; based on 2007 workforce data. Figures for local authority maintained schools only, excluding 83 academies. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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4. Standards for School Leadership 4.1 NCSL is currently consulting on a new set of standards for school leadership which reﬂect the role of the modern school leader, which have been developed with the Social Partnership/Workforce Agreement Monitoring Group. The new leadership standards will replace the current Headship Standards and will apply to all school leaders. They will form part of a wider framework of standards for the whole school workforce.

5. Current CPD Provision for Head Teachers and School Leaders 5.1 NCSL’s core business is to serve the needs of existing and future school leaders through our leadership programmes. These programmes are grouped under themes that reflect the needs of school leaders in diVerent contexts and at each stage of their career. These programmes are designed to oVer opportunities to reflect on practice, work with colleagues, coaches and mentors, visit other schools, carry out research and explore the latest thinking on school leadership at every level. 5.2 The core programmes delivered by NCSL are: — Leading from the Middle. — Leadership Pathways. — National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). — Early Headship Provision. — The Certificate of School Business Management. — The Diploma of School Business Management. — The National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership. 5.3 By December 2008 30,700 school leaders had graduated from the NPQH programme. It is mandatory to hold or have a place on the NPQH in order to apply for a headship in the maintained sector. From April 2009 all first time head teachers in the maintained sector must be NPQH graduates. 5.4 During 2007–08 the NPQH programme was redesigned and the new version was launched nationally in September 2008. The new programme has been re focused to develop the next generation of school leaders and to focus on the skills needed to lead 21st century schools. The recruitment process has been revised to more closely target, identify and prepare those leaders who are ready for headship through a rigorous selection process. Only candidates who can demonstrate they can take up a headship post within 12–18 months of completing the course are now accepted on to the programme. Early feedback from the independent evaluation of the new programme has been positive. 5.5 The programme for middle leaders, Leading from the Middle, takes groups of two to four participants from a school, supported by a leadership coach and provides a mix of on-line and face to face learning. The focus is on key skills including leading teaching and learning and leading change. The programme is highly regarded and demand consistently exceeds the places available, which currently stands at 5,000 in 2008–09. 5.6 The Accelerated Leadership Development Programme, which will be launched in the spring of 2010, aims to identify and develop those with the potential to accelerate to headship and achieve the NPQH within four years. It will capitalise on the talent and ambition within the teaching profession, helping to retain high quality individuals within education and to attract and recruit career changers with real leadership expertise. NCSL also supports the Future Leaders programme for individuals with significant leadership experience from other sectors who are entering the profession and wanting to move rapidly into leadership roles. 5.7 By April 2008 96% of secondary schools and 79% of primary schools had taken part in at least one of the core NCSL programmes. 5.8 School leaders have consistently rated our programmes highly. For example between October 2007 and August 2008 the first cohort on Leadership Pathways reported a participant satisfaction level above 90% with 95% saying it had increased their confidence as a leader. During 2007–08 participant satisfaction levels on Leading from the Middle, Early Headship Provision and Head for the Future were usually over 80% and frequently over 90%.

6. Remodelling School Leadership Teams 6.1 Recognising that leadership can no longer be eVective if it is invested in a single head teacher, a growing number of schools are remodelling their leadership teams and developing a wider range of increasingly strategic roles to respond to the management and leadership challenges, increased responsibilities and the additional skills required in the 21st century school. Very few schools (5% of primary schools) now have a single headteacher without anyone else in the leadership team. 6.2. The most common additional leadership role is that of School Business Manager. EVective business management in schools creates a more eYcient organisation and enables the head teacher and other members of the leadership team to focus on the core business of teaching and learning. Research by McKinsey (NCSL, 2007) estimated that a school business manager could carry out almost one third of the Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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tasks that would otherwise be carried out by a head teacher in a normal school week. Research by the University of Hull shows that the appointment of a qualified School Business Manager not only saves money but also raises additional funds. 6.3 NCSL is supporting these changes in school leadership and management through two bursar development programmes—The Certificate of School Business Management (CSBM) and the Diploma of School Business Management (DSBM) which are accredited programmes on finance and business management in schools. 6.4 92% of CSBM graduates say their ability to operate as leaders has been enhanced as a result of their work on the programme and 93% of DSBM graduates report an increase in their leadership abilities. In addition 89% indicated their role had changed as a result of participating in the course and 77% reported that they were now full members of their senior leadership teams. 6.5 The knowledge and content from both these programmes is being developed into a new programme, the Advanced Diploma in School Business Management (ADSBM) and through NCSL demonstration projects in 30 locations that are testing the potential for ASBMs and Schools Business Directors to work across clusters of small primary schools.

7. System Leadership and National Leaders of Education 7.1 Professional development and training is about more than running courses, however good these might be. System leadership involves our most eVective leaders working beyond their individual schools to inﬂuence practice, provide support and advice and drive improvements across the wider school system. The College has developed an approach to system leadership through the National Leaders of Education/ National Support Schools programme, which has trained and supported 200 National Leaders of Education (NLEs) since it was launched in 2006. 7.2 NLEs are outstanding headteachers who run excellent primary, secondary or special schools and who have the skills, expertise and capacity to help other schools. NLEs and their leadership teams provide additional leadership to schools in diYculty. 7.3 In 2007–08 some 51 secondary schools, 40 primary schools and 6 special schools were provided with additional leadership capacity, support and training as a result of the programme. 7.4 There is clear evidence to show that schools supported in this way improve their exam results at a faster rate than the national average (National Leaders of Education/National Support Schools: review of school-to-school support, NCSL, 2008). 7.8 NLEs are just one example of the strategic initiatives that NCSL has developed to support school leaders to support and learn from each other. Others include: the Leadership Network, which now has 28,000 members; our Succession Planning programme, which is working with schools and local authorities to address the succession issues referred to above, and the highly successful London Leadership Strategy within the London Challenge.

8. The Impact of CPD Provision 8.1 There is a clear evidence base to show that those who engage in NCSL programmes are more likely to achieve more rapid improvement in results for their pupils and their schools. 8.2 Between 2003 and 2006 those primary schools that had participated in three or more of NCSL’s core programmes achieved a higher rate of improvement in English and maths at Key stage 2 than other schools (Exploring the Impact of Involvement in NCSL Activity on Primary School Improvement: University of Nottingham, 2008). 8.3 Between 2006 and 2007 secondary schools that engaged with two or more of NCSL core programmes saw their rate of pupil progress between Key 2 and GCSE rise, while schools that had not engaged with the College fell back (Exploring changes in Secondary schools academic results and relationship with NCSL over six years. Update Report University of Nottingham, 2008). 8.4 Between 2005 and 2007 the rate of improvement for schools most engaged with NCSL leadership development programmes was over four times that of non—engaged schools. (Exploring changes in secondary schools academic results and relationship with NCSL over six years. University of Nottingham 2008). 8.5 Evidence from Ofsted also reveals how involvement with NCSL has raised the quality of leadership in schools. Between 2003 to 2005 Ofsted inspection outcomes for schools engaged with NCSL core programmes show that the leadership of the head teacher was judged to be excellent, very good or good in 91% of schools and the leadership of other key staV was judged to be excellent, very good or good for 79% of engaged schools. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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9. Future CPD Requirements for School Leaders 9.1 The current policy agenda depends for its success on the continuing supply of high quality school leaders. The retirement of baby boomer headteachers within the next five years presents real and continuing demographic challenges. 9.2 In order to increase our impact and support the policy agenda eVectively NCSL believes that we need to engage significantly more leaders, particularly middle leaders in our programmes. 9.3 We also believe that our programmes should focus on delivering four key outcomes: — High quality leadership of teaching and learning. —SuYcient excellent leaders for tomorrow. — Leaders who face outward beyond their school. — Leaders who can lead change and continuous improvement. 9.4 With this and wider evidence in mind, NCSL believes that we need to shift even greater emphasis onto the following key elements across our provision: — Learning on the job. — Support and guidance from credible peers. — Experience of other schools and other contexts. — Opportunity for reflection and challenge supported by high quality resources and facilitation. 9.5 Therefore, following extensive consultation with the profession, we have recently submitted proposals to the Secretary of State to redesign our provision for middle leaders, early heads and system leaders. We believe our proposals will serve to embed CPD and succession planning more firmly in schools, align our work more closely with the TDA’s emerging thinking on the Masters in Teaching and Learning, and ensure that the new generation of leaders have the skills and capacity required for the future. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Association for Physical Education (afPE) The Association for Physical Education (afPE)83 welcomes the opportunity to submit information to the Select Committee’s New Inquiry into Teacher Training. As a major provider of services and products for continuing professional development (CPD); and having identiﬁed systemic weaknesses in initial teacher training (ITT) which are currently not being addressed, afPE believes that this inquiry is timely and necessary.The information which follows relates mainly to physical education; but issues which we are aware are shared by other subject associations and educational providers are highlighted as they arise. afPE requests that Select Committee Members also refer to afPE’s recent Manifesto for Physical Education, Appendix I.84

Summary: (i) Measuring quality There are diVerences between the guidance issued by Ofsted, QCA, DCSF, TDA, regarding criteria for high quality learning and teaching. Some subject Associations have supported their membership by interpreting and mediating criteria. Such service is less easy to achieve for primary teachers.

(ii) Entry into the teaching profession afPE recommends that the TDA work with subject associations to clarify and strengthen subject-related criteria for secondary specialist ITT entry; and ensures compliance among all ITT providers. afPE recommends reﬂection by TDA of its remit in allocating ITT numbers between HEI and GTP providers; and review of the use and application of quality criteria by ITT providers, especially relating to compliance.

83 The Association for Physical Education is committed to being the representative UK organisation of choice for people and agencies delivering or supporting the delivery of physical education in schools and in the wider community. Its corporate objectives are to: 1. Demonstrate the distinctive role of physical education in children’s and young people’s development and achievements. 2. Establish and sustain physical education at the heart of school life and whole-school development, through support for high quality learning and teaching; research; ethical leadership; and politically informed advocacy and representation. 3. Raise awareness of physical education’s contributions to public health and well-being. 4. Play a leading role in the development of a workforce with the skills and qualities required to assure high quality physical education and sport in schools and in the wider community. 5. Provide high quality, professional, sustainable services for its members and partners. 84 Not printed. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The TDA position on increasing diversity in teacher recruitment focuses only on shortage subjects. This means that non-shortage subjects remain less diverse and children lack a wide range of role models; and there are less opportunities for BME applicants. afPE recommends review of this policy.

(iii) Delivery of ITT Incremental changes to ITT have resulted in shortage of time for preparation of trainees, which has particular implications for ITT provision for “technical” subjects, including physical education.

The funding parameters for ITT have added further pressures for those engaged in delivery, both within HEIs and for GTPs. There needs to be commitment to ensure compliance from providers of initial teacher training, to ensure that all newly qualiﬁed primary teachers have adequate preparation to teach physical education. afPE’s evidence shows that the poor level of preparation of some primary trainees is the most serious systemic weakness in the delivery system. afPE recommends that TDA acknowledge this systemic weakness, and address it, either through insisting on compliance by all ITT providers; or by primary and secondary subject “booster” courses.

(iv) CPD Provision In the case of physical education, the need for signiﬁcantly increased investment into CPD is emphasised by its major distinctive contributions to two further policy areas beyond education—health and sport/ participation in physical activity. afPE recommends an audit of current provision and collaborative discussion with major providers, which would inform decisions about national strategies for CPD provision. A coordinated approach to building capacity in impact measurement would also be of beneﬁt.

Select Committee Questions 1. Measuring Quality (a) The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching; and (b) The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured. — Criteria for high quality teaching and learning tend to be embedded in a range of guidance materials by diVerent agencies. Three years ago, afPE responded to teacher confusion in this area, and produced a poster which aimed to calibrate three separate sets of criteria for quality which had emanated from the Quality and Curriculum Agency for the Physical Education School Sport Club Links programme, the (then) DfES Secondary Strategy and Ofsted. The challenge seems to stem from the somewhat diVerent objectives of the various agencies, and the lack of synergy between them.

— afPE believes that the current QCA model for curriculum development and evaluation of learning provides an improved basis for the profession to arrive at shared criteria, against which performance can be recognised and measured for learners with diVerent learning styles—not only in so-called “theoretical” subjects, but also subjects like physical education which depend heavily on experiential and kinaesthetic learning. afPE has appreciated the collaborative approach adopted by QCA in scoping and implementing curriculum reform, which has been aided materially by the active involvement of subject associations. DCSF has also recently engaged subject associations in the process of dissemination of the new secondary curriculum, which has further contributed to shared understanding of purposes and criteria for good practice.

— However, such shared understanding will take considerable time and sustained eVort to spread throughout the teaching profession, which has serious implications for CPD requirements (see CPD section). ITT providers tend to be excluded from dissemination programmes for curriculum innovation and afPE strongly recommends their inclusion in planned programmes in future innovation and development.

— afPE’s links with the Physical Education Special Interest Group of the British Educational Research Association, and the work of afPE’s own Research Committee enable frequent exposure through afPE’s own publications—“Physical Education Matters” and “Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy”. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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2. Entry into the Teaching Profession (a) The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT; — The published criteria for entry to ITT are generally accessible and well understood. However, afPE has observed significant variation in both the levels of commitment to some of the most robust criteria related to “relevant” first degree subject; and in the meeting of criteria by candidates to ITT oVered by diVerent ITT providers. In physical education specialist training, there have been cases of candidates being refused entry on the grounds of lack of relevance of first degree (eg media studies) by one provider, yet being accepted for physical education specialist training by another provider. Such laxity seems to be more common among some GTP ITT providers, where subject specialism sometimes appears to be paid lip service. afPE recommends that the TDA work with subject associations to clarify and strengthen subject-related criteria for secondary specialist ITT entry; and ensures compliance among all ITT providers.

(b) The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level; — afPE, along with other subject associations, is concerned about the ways in which some decisions are taken on ITT numbers across subjects and providers; and about how the allocation process is managed and updated. There seems to be little accountability or transparency. While some of the decisions can be tracked for secondary specialist places, it is almost impossible to identify, from TDA data, which ITT providers oVer what levels of subject-based provision for primary trainees, or what the outcomes are for quality.For example, although afPE is aware that some ITT providers are oVering “subject leadership” preparation, and hence an enriched ITT in that subject, the TDA does not collect or manage data in such a way that this information can be found or acted upon. — It seems that control of demand/supply takes precedence over quality issues. afPE also believes that decisions relating to physical education ITT numbers have been taken, without full regard for changing contexts which directly aVect teacher supply, eg leakage from the profession via the large number of opportunities for physical education secondary specialist teachers, for career progression in sport development, which have emanated from the investment in school sport infrastructure through the national strategy for physical education and school sport (PESSYP). It is vital that decision aVecting the workforce are informed by good understanding of the strategic context in which subjects operate: in the case of physical education, it does seem that the impact of the PESSYP strategy, and of physical education’s role in health promotion and sport development, should be used, as well as knowledge of educational policy/strategy. — afPE’s leadership of the national Physical Education ITT Network, along with its associated communication structures, allows it to gather information quickly and eVectively from ITT providers, about potential policy decisions and concerns for quality. One recurrent concern is the lack of consistency of application of criteria for quality, in the process of allocating ITT places. In particular, there is little early information for HEI providers, about the implications of the ways in which GTP places in some subjects have been allowed to mushroom, often at the expense of high quality HEI providers. — The following case outlines possibly the most glaring. An HEI provider, A-rated by Ofsted, requested additional places from TDA, in good time for allocation for the subsequent year’s intake (2009–10). The initial enquiry received no response and a reminder had to be sent, eventually receiving the following response from TDA: “We have now had the opportunity to look at the ITT recruitment census data. It shows that PE recruitment was extremely strong with virtually all mainstream providers managing to recruit all their allocated places, and in a number of cases over-recruit. Overall, based on allocations of 1,150 places, 1,213 postgraduate and undergraduate places were recruited. Additionally, we have seen 364 places recruited so far in 2008–09 by employment-based providers to GTP courses in PE from their non-priority secondary allocations. Overall we try to maintain a ratio of 85%:15% between mainstream and employment-based provision. For PE this is nearer a quarter of places.85 This does not include any GTP trainees who will be recruited to start later in the 2008–09 academic year (estimated to be around 180 more based on previous years’ ﬁgures). This means that recruitment is in excess of the DCSF’s target for ITT places for PE. Given this, we are not in a position to allocate any additional places for the subject. I realise that this is not the response you would have wanted, especially given that the provision that (your HEI) is oVering is high quality (recognised by your Ofsted re-grading to an A-rated secondary provider), but unfortunately we are severely restricted.”

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— This TDA response is an indication of lack of adherence to policy, and of absence of priority for ensuring high standards, since the HEI provider is A-rated by Ofsted. Most important from the HEI provider’s perspective, is that the quotas of high quality PE ITT providers (evidenced by the outcomes of a series of Ofsted inspections) have been drastically cut, whilst the proportion of GTP trained PE teachers has been allowed to increase. Given that the quality of GTP courses is currently unknown, having not yet been rigorously inspected, this seems a perverse action to take by TDA. Secondly, it is diYcult to understand why TDA has permitted the GTP proportion to have increased, significantly beyond the ratio it is claiming to maintain. It is also surprising that TDA would permit any further GTP places for this intake, given that 1,213 postgraduate and undergraduate places were recruited, based on allocations of 1,150 places. This suggests that 63 extra secondary PE teachers were recruited beyond quotas. Yet, on top of this, over 500 secondary PE teachers were trained via GTP courses. It certainly is an indication of serious failure in scrutiny and planning by TDA. Yet in afPE’s experience, and that of our ITT provider members and fellow subject associations, TDA seems unaccountable for its decisions, of for the eVects of those decisions on ITT providers and on subject associations. — afPE (along with other subject associations) is disappointed with TDA’s apparent failure to ensure that ITT providers comply with standards, and even more by TDA’s refusal to acknowledge that some ITT providers simply are unsatisfactory. There is a severe lack of information about how and whether GTP providers comply with minimum standards. Any procedures by which TDA satisfies itself that ITT providers do comply are opaque; and TDA has never responded to any requests for evidence that criteria have been met by ITT providers. There seems to be no means of comparing adequately or rigorously,the eVectiveness of diVerent kinds of provision, eg between GTP and HEI providers — afPE would record that currently, two very well respected and highly experienced afPE members are GTP assessors and are very concerned about the poor standard of provision by some GTP providers. afPE is supporting one member who has refused to pass some trainees, with the result that the Head is threatening legal action against him. afPE recommends reflection by TDA of its remit in allocating ITT numbers between HEI and GTP providers; and review of the use and application of quality criteria by ITT providers, especially relating to compliance.

(c) Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualiﬁcations, skills and attributes to become good teachers; — See above, afPE’s concerns about the lack of parity in information about the means of evaluation between GTP and HEI providers in physical education. While afPE provides help and support for physical education ITT providers through its ITT Network, the late collection of data during the intake year, about which GTP providers are being deployed, means that it is very diYcult to provide subject-based support for GTP providers, hence support for those mentoring and supporting trainees. — While the DfES measures for workforce reform in teaching have changed the nature of recruitment to some degree, afPE believes that it has resulted in some serious unforeseen problems related to quality and appropriateness of deployment. afPE is aware that some non-QTS providers, with poor credentials as providers of national curriculum physical education, are claiming to be able to deliver programmes; and some primary head teachers are deploying them without being fully aware of the very real threats to quality and child safety of such provision. afPE has produced Guidelines on the deployment of non-teachers, which have been commended by the Secretary of State. But wider dissemination of this Guidance is required to sustain quality of curriculum delivery, and ensure children’s safety and well being. — At the same time, more radical exploration of sources of expertise for potential teachers has not been encouraged, especially relating to people with excellent “technical” qualiﬁcations. In the case of physical education, the current Coaching Review is providing a welcome opportunity to develop a shared pedagogy for all people working in sport and physical activity with children, and afPE is working closely with sportscoach UK to progress this. But it also illustrates the need to explore routes for professional progression between, not only coaching, but also dance instruction and activity leadership. afPE is tasked by DCSF to explore such alternative routes to QTS, but it is important that this work is undertaken with the support of the TDA, which is currently being sought.

(d) The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession; — afPE is committed to inclusion and equity in the delivery of and opportunities provided by physical education. We have beneﬁted from a partnership with the Ethnic Minorities Foundation (EMF), whereby we have explored some of the structural, cultural and institutional reasons for this situation. TDA data was surprisingly diYcult to obtain and use, since it is not collected in ways which are conducive to critical research. However, we secured suYcient data to be able to express Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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concern to TDA, during 2005–06, about the fact that physical education attracts less BME recruits than any other national curriculum subject; and through the EMF’s policy department, secured suYcient funding from “Capacitybuilders” for a project exploring contributory factors, whose outcomes were reported to the TDA oYcer in charge of diversity. — The TDA response was disappointing; and, to an organisation committed to increasing diversity and equity of opportunity in its subject workforce, quite a shock. TDA said that it would only intervene or allocate resources, for a subject which was failing to recruit to meet teacher supply. Since physical education enjoys buoyant demand for ITT places, this means that TDA was uninterested in afPE’s commitment to explore the reasons for the current lack of racial diversity in the physical education workforce and among candidates for ITT. Despite our questions about how this stance related to TDA’s own strategic objective to increase diversity in the workforce, and to the desirability of a wider range or role models for children, and of opportunities in teaching physical education for a wider range of candidates, the response remained the same. In eVect, TDA is interested in diversity, only if it increases the likelihood that TDA can meet its supply targets in shortage subjects. This will further entrench the lack of diversity in non-shortage subjects, since ITT providers have little incentive to change current practice. Subsequently, one of the HEI members of afPE’s ITT Network did secure a modest research grant from TDA to address some of the patterns of dropout which the EMF/afPE project had identiﬁed, working with four other HEI providers; but there has been no sustained interest in afPE’s work in this area from TDA.

(e) The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers working with pupils with special educational needs and new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances.) — Incremental changes in initial teacher training have, over the last two decades, reduced the time available for preparation of trainees. The preference for post-graduate routes rather than BEd/BA with QTS, by successive governments, despite the HMI evidence that the three or four year integrated training was more eVective, has led to a situation where even subjects like physical education, which require certain levels of engagement in and mastery of technical skills, have significantly less time in ITT provision than they did, 25 years ago. The UK has the dubious distinction of its ITT provision being the shortest in Western Europe. — A further factor is that levels of funding for ITT provision in HEIs frequently are seen by HEI senior managers, to be inadequate for the expectations associated with it. This has meant that in some HEIs which lack a “critical mass” of ITT, teacher trainers find themselves as marginalised professionals within marginalised departments, often without direct support from non-ITT courses in the parent disciplines, because of the fractures between subject-based ITT and first degree provision in many HEIs. The capacity of some departments to meet the whole range of needs of trainees, especially for primary provision, can be severely restricted by such circumstances. — Four years ago, responding to concern about standards of ITT in physical education, TDA funded a three year project, led by Liverpool John Moore’s University, afPE and the Youth Sport Trust, whose aim was to provide support and a strategic improvement programme for physical education ITT. The final report, presented in 2007, demonstrated significant improvement and success among secondary specialist providers; and made a series of recommendations, especially on how primary ITT for physical education could be improved. Sadly, these recommendations have not been acted upon. — afPE’s major concern, which is shared by several other subject associations, and by the NUT, is the very restricted amount of time available, especially in post graduate ITT provision, for subject preparation for primary trainees, which includes understanding the whole range of learners’ needs. — afPE’s evidence shows that at least 40% of newly qualified primary teachers begin their careers, having received only six hours or less preparation for physical education, which is clearly inadequate for safe and confident teaching. The 2007 national survey of parents of primary-aged children, conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys for afPE, demonstrated clearly that more than 97% of parents felt this to be unacceptable. — This is a systemic weakness which can be addressed and resolved, since there are structures which should be able to deal with it, ie all ITT providers should be complying with standards of competence for trainees, set by TDA. afPE is aware that many ITT providers do manage to oVer quality ITT preparation for primary physical education, despite the shortage of time available, especially in PGCE courses. It is axiomatic that other providers should be able to do the same, whether GTP or HEI-based. But the patterns described above continue, to the detriment of both trainees’ and children’s experiences. There are clear issues about the safety and well-being of children here; but also of the quality of provision. afPE has raised this issue many times during the last two years with TDA, and several Parliamentary Questions have been placed on this issue. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— Sadly, the TDA response appears to reflect an unwillingness even to acknowledge that there is a problem, let alone that any action should be taken to address it. A recurrent TDA response is that afPE has not taken into account, the school training hours which might have been allocated. Yet our information is that when head teachers receive a trainee with inadequate preparation, they will not allocate a trainee, any hours teaching that subject, for fear of accident and litigation. TDA also claims that all ITT providers are meeting the criteria to comply with the standards required. afPE would ask how this can possibly be the case, when we know from our own data that many newly qualified teachers (NQTs) either avoid delivery of physical education, or revert to their own experience. Those of our members who support the development of NQTs in local authorities report exactly the same challenges, and pressing need for compensatory CPD. This is clearly an unsatisfactory situation, given concerns about child health and obesity. — A systemic weakness should be capable of resolution, given the will to address it. afPE is confident that, with adequate initial training, primary teachers can (and many already do) provide excellent, imaginative, enjoyable programmes of physical education. Poor ITT providers should not be in the position of preventing this to be a universal expectation across the system. afPE has been disappointed that TDA has excluded physical education from subject “booster” course provision for NQTs, preferring rather to invest only in shortage subjects. — For physical education, there are expectations of physical education, far beyond educational strategy and school improvement, reflected in its contributions to a range of PSA Delivery Agreements on health, sport and children’s well being. — afPE has been attempting to secure funding from sources beyond the education budget, to support its work in health and sport. It is disappointing that the lack of integrated thinking between government departments and agencies appears to impede progress in this area.

(f) The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT; — The challenges of the restricted time available in ITT courses, especially in PGCE, militates against full exploration of alternative approaches. The issues caused by funding levels also have an eVect, including widening gaps in HEIs, between ITT staV and HEI staV who see their role predominantly as researchers. The criteria of (for example) the Research Assessment Exercise have exacerbated these divisions between ITT and research staV. — However, afPE has been able to use its leadership of the national Physical Education ITT Network to provide regular updates and information to ITT providers, both primary and secondary; and to encourage the sharing of good practice. Twice-yearly conferences, a networked website with free resources and a super-regional peer support structure also provide support and development services for ITT providers. The Network is wholly funded by afPE and the ITT providers who participate. Network Conferences have provided the context in which collaborative work between ITT providers, eg on increasing diversity in recruitment, has emerged; and links between critical research on ITT approaches and ITT provision have been encouraged. — However, the lack of accessible information about GTP provision; and the fact that providers change every year, means that it is diYcult to maintain accurate contact details, and hence provide full, sustained development support for GTP providers in any ITT learning community.

(g) The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision; — See above response. HEIs’ provision tends to be longer-term, sustained over longer periods than GTP provision. But the lack of accessible data about GTP provision, especially its contribution in the longer term, mean that it is quite diYcult to ensure accurate observation. — The capacity of some HEIs to recruit and maintain strong teams of staV and school networks to deliver and support ITT, demonstrate good practice, and significant contribution to sharing innovation and successful approaches. HEIs which have been able to sustain eVective links between ITT provision and research; and to encourage staV to develop skills and track record in both, represent distinctive contributions to ITT which could not be replicated in any other way. In many cases, these contributions are due to committed senior leadership; a critical mass of ITT provision; and a history of ITT provision which defines the culture of some HEIs. It is also the case that such HEIs have good relationships with, and contribute to and benefit from, subject and professional organisations. — It is much less easy (possible) for ITT staV in HEIs where ITT is marginal within the course portfolio; and afPE is aware that there are often conflicting and multiple pressures on ITT staV which are diYcult to meet; and within which career progression or even job satisfaction is frequently impeded. afPE recommends that TDA and DCSF suggest criteria relating to links between research and ITT provision, for the RAE Education unit of assessment, which could help to reduce the pressure on young ITT lecturers for research output which is often unrelated to their working practices and to ITT quality criteria. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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(h) Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable; — See comments above, regarding critical mass, which inﬂuences the capacity of HEIs to maintain viable partnerships with schools. It is remarkable in some cases, how much commitment has been shown by ITT providers to sustain structures and working practices which are inherently expensive in staV time and travel. — There is some evidence that the shortage of appropriately qualiﬁed and committed school-based mentors is a barrier to eVective provision.

(i) The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those based in HEIs, schools and other settings; — There has been little research on this issue, hence there is little available data. However, as mentioned above, afPE is aware that in some HEIs, staV experience pressure from multiple sources, including pressure to publish and raise income, as well as satisfying development criteria for quality ITT. On the other hand, such staV are likely to benefit from mentoring from more experienced ITT colleagues, except in the case of HEIs whose ITT provision is very small. GTP ITT providers are likely to suVer in the same way from lack of support from an established learning/professional community. As mentioned above, it is more diYcult for subject associations to provide eVective support and development for a constituency which constantly is shifting, and for which contact details are often diYcult to identify. — afPE’s position as a member of the National Consortium for CPD for the PESSYP programme has enabled commissioning of independent research which has focused on the eVectiveness of learning communities emanating from the national infrastructure for CPD which the PESSYP programme has developed, which consists of Local Delivery Agencies. It is clear from the findings of the independent research that sustained eVectiveness, especially for school personnel, is heavily dependent on school and local authority leadership ensuring that staV benefit from time to reflect on and implement what they have learned.

(j) The role of educational research in informing ITT provision. — See response to previous Committee questions. Where there are established links within HEIs and across subject communities, systematic dialogue between practice and research is more likely. afPE is committed to practice informed by research; and to research which is grounded in practice. Hence, its Research Committee is embarking upon an ambitious research programme, in partnership with HEIs and research institutes, whose agenda is informed by workforce planning, quality deﬁnition and improvement and the eVectiveness of ITT and CPD. This will be facilitated by afPE’s direct links with the Physical Education SIG of the British Educational Research Association; and by its leadership of the national ITT Network, whose recent conferences have included presentations on current research projects. — afPE is disappointed that some sources of research funding, eg those operated by TDA and some of those oVered by DCSF, are not available for bidding from subject associations. This prevents strategic approaches to critical work on subject-based pedagogy and workforce development, which could inform both ITT and CPD strategy.

3. CPD Provision (a) Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and if so, to what extent; — In the case of physical education, the need for signiﬁcantly increased investment into CPD is further emphasised by its major distinctive contributions to two further policy areas beyond education—health and sport/participation in physical activity. — There is a lack of comprehensive information about CPD provision—its sources, strategic context and eVects; and it is clear from recent government agencies’ tenders for information on this issue, that there is poor awareness of the range and scale of CPD provision by some subject associations. For example, afPE is a major provider of CPD, both through its delivery role in the National Consortium for CPD in the PESSYP programme, which involves support for between 30,000 and 34,000 teachers each year; and through its own CPD provision through its National College for CPD in physical education, which provides accredited, quality-controlled CPD (1,477 delegates in 2007–08). afPE’s quality assurance mechanisms are well developed and rigorous, and delivery is based on needs audits, hence the accreditation at Master’s Level provided for delegates. — But there is wide variation in the quality and relevance of CPD for teachers of physical education, both within education and from sport and health. It is desirable that a more strategic approach is adopted, which provides a framework for provision and recognises and embraces existing high quality provision. It is also desirable that any such strategy takes account of the impact of free access to CPD, which emanates from budgets in some national strategies, but which seriously Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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undermine the primary business of long-term CPD providers. More collaboration and coordinated planning are urgently needed. This could also help head teachers, especially in primary schools, prioritise the CPD which is most desirable for their schools and staV. — Recent innovations in the curriculum and the need to relate learning and teaching to a range of desired strategic outcomes demonstrate clear need for sustained investment into continuing professional development, including encouragement of reflective practice through specific investment into capacity building for monitoring, evaluation and impact measurement. — In many respects for physical education, the impact of the education National Strategies has been less than that of the PESSCL (now PESSYP) programme and the cumulative eVects of sport and health policies. However, afPE has worked hard to ensure that teachers of physical education have been provided with resources and materials which have demonstrated calibration between the various aspects of improvement, across the primary and secondary strategies, the PESS improvement agenda and Ofsted’s criteria. As a result, physical education benefits from posters and support materials which help teachers and head teachers understand the relationships between sets of criteria which have emanated centrally from DCSF; those which have been born largely within sports policy; and those promoted by Ofsted and QCA. This would not have happened, but for the initiative and expertise of the subject association, which has sometimes appeared to be the only agency with knowledge of the eVects on physical education, of the whole range of policies and strategies, both from within education and beyond. — While the proportion of the PESSCL budget devoted to CPD has been relatively small, with far greater percentages allocated to school sport and national elite competitions, nevertheless the impact of the PESSYP (formerly PESSCL) CPD programme has been, not only to oVer teachers of physical education rolling programmes of CPD related to emerging national strategies as well as the PESSCL objectives, but also to establish an infrastructure of Local Delivery Agencies, which are beginning to serve as a means of rolling out proposals and innovation, as was shown during the dissemination of the Key Stage 3 proposals; and more recently, in the construction of proposals for the new primary curriculum. In some areas, too, eVective “learning communities” in physical education have been developed, although there is, regrettably, patchy use of local authority strategic leaders with valuable experience, expertise and capacity for strategic innovation. — The objective for all teachers to achieve Master’s level professional development qualifications is of some concern. afPE and several other subject associations are concerned that the proposals as currently framed, seem to lack acknowledgement of existing Master’s schemes, with the flexibility to serve both subject knowledge and teaching and learning, which have already been developed by subject associations, in collaboration with universities, on the basis of accreditation of a range of means of learning. It would be detrimental and regressive, were a centralised qualification to displace the innovative schemes which are already proving popular with teachers and their employers, and sustainable in terms of cost and mobility.

(b) The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. — Lack of synergy between diVerent agencies in education has, as described above, led to the need for subject associations to attempt to provide a synthesis and guidance for members. afPE recommends an audit of current provision and collaborative discussion with major providers, which would inform decisions about national strategies for CPD provision. A coordinated approach to building capacity in impact measurement would also be of beneﬁt. — The PESSYP Consortium is currently developing proposals for an approach which focuses upon the impact of CPD, not only on teachers’ own practices; but also upon learners’ experiences. afPE’s team of consultants with expertise in this area are leading thinking and development for measuring impact on learning, relating also to the deployment and understanding of Ofsted criteria for good practice. — afPE welcomes the opportunities for teachers to be at the centre of assessment, a key element of their professional role. It is worth calling attention to the good practice which already exists in physical education (and other “practical” subjects) in assessment for learning (AFL). The subject associations can provide a wealth of experience and expertise for further development. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Edge Foundation 1. Edge is an independent education foundation dedicated to raising the status of practical and vocational learning so that: — all young people have the opportunity to achieve their potential; and — the UK’s future workforce is equipped with the skills to be successful in the modern economy. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Summary of Main Points — Although the introduction of Diplomas and young apprenticeships increases the number of pathways which students can follow, the background of teachers and their lack of knowledge is a barrier to students choosing options other than the traditional academic routes. — In recent survey of over 1000 teachers 63% said that they had poor knowledge of the new Diplomas, 71% had poor knowledge of young apprenticeships and 77% had poor knowledge of advanced apprenticeships. This compares with over 80% claiming good knowledge of university degrees.86 — This ignorance at best limits a teacher’s ability to help students choose a pathway which is right for them, at worse it will result in active discouragement. This must be tackled at point of entry of new teachers and through professional development of more established teachers. Edge believes that: — ITT should be developed to take account of the increasing amount of vocational and career-led qualifications being taught in secondary schools, including the Diplomas, and ensure that teachers gain accurate knowledge of the options students have. — All teachers should understand the contribution their subject can make to employability. — All teachers should understand the career opportunities their subject oVers after school and after higher education. — Teachers of career-led qualifications should have experience of that career and entry should not be restricted to graduates but should include those with a high level work based qualification. — By the end of their second year in teaching all teachers should be required to demonstrate that their pupils have experienced: — Learning for real. — Business or community engagement. — Vocational and practical learning should be part of the new MA in Teaching and Learning and NCSL programmes.

The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession. 1. Recommendation: ITT should be developed to take account of the increasing amount of vocational and career-led qualifications being taught in secondary schools, including the Diplomas, and ensure that teachers gain accurate knowledge of the options students have. 2. There is cross party support for increasing the number of students going onto apprenticeships and non- traditional routes such as Diplomas. In order for this goal to be achieved it is essential that students receive accurate and unbiased advice. In addition to the formal advice students receive through the Connexions Service they are heavily influenced by the informal advice they receive from their subject teachers and tutors. 3. As demonstrated by the evidence in the introduction most teachers say they do not understand educational opportunities other than that of the traditional academic university. 4. Edge believes that it is essential that this is addressed as part of ITT and that all teachers should understand the variety of routes their students might wish to follow when they leave school and that diVerent routes suit the diVerent ways students prefer to learn. In addition to being given the information trainee teachers should be required to talk to groups of students who have followed non-traditional pathways and produce evidence that they understand how this is beneficial to those students. 5. Recommendation: All teachers should understand the contribution their subject can make to employability. 6. The CBI has identified employability skills which it believes all young people should have. These include self management, team work, problem solving and business awareness. Although these can be taught in isolation it is essential that they are reinforced through the normal subject teaching. During ITT teachers should be able to demonstrate, through their lessons and planning, that they understand how their subject can contribute to these aims. 7. Recommendation: All teachers should understand the career opportunities their subject oVers after school and after higher education. 8. Most, if not all subjects taught at school can contribute to a range of careers. It can be very motivating for students to realise this and so on occasions teachers should discus this with students. Edge believes all teachers should be required to demonstrate this knowledge during their initial training.

86 YouGov Survey carried out for Edge December 2008, questioned 1,119 teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT. 9. Recommendation: Teachers of career-led qualifications should have experience of that career and entry should not be restricted to graduates but should include those with a high level work based qualification. 10. When teachers were only concerned with academic subjects it was entirely appropriate that entry to the profession should be restricted to graduates. However vocational subjects are being increasingly taught in schools. 11. Edge welcomes this but if these subjects are to be taught well teachers should have the appropriate experience and qualification. For example Health and Social Care is taught in many schools by teachers who have converted from other subjects. They need have no experience of the employment sector. Where as a person who has worked for ten years in care homes and has a level 4 NVQ would not be allowed to teach the course. 12. Edge believes that such teachers should be allowed to become a qualified teacher once they have completed a practical training course as is the case in Further Education. The increasing numbers of students moving between schools and FE Colleges for diVerent parts of their course calls into question the rationale for diVerent teaching qualifications in the two sectors. Edge believes that the two systems need to be brought into line.

Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 13. Recommendation: By the end of their second year in teaching all teachers should be required to demonstrate that their pupils have experienced learning for real and engagement with an employer or the community. 14. Research for the Skills Commission showed that many teachers think that they are not adequately trained to support practical learning; 44% of teachers agreed that their training did not suYciently equip them to support practical learning. 15. Practical learning in this context means learning for real, working with experts and undertaking an activity which may have a direct consequence or might simulate a consequence, eg a town planning exercise in geography. Edge believes that whilst it would be beneficial for teachers to experience this during their ITT or first year in teaching it recognises that it is a high level skill. However by the end of their second year all teachers should be supported so that they all able to demonstrate they have carried out this type of teaching. 16. It is essential that schools and teachers are outward looking and there is national recognition that there needs to be a step change in engaging employers with students. Slightly diVerent but of similar benefit is working with local community groups for example a parish council or Age Concern. 17. A teacher requires specific skills to prepare and deliver such an activity. For example they must recognise how it will enhance their subject, how to approach employers and health and safety issues. 18. Edge believes that CPD should give teachers these skills and that there should be a requirement for all teachers to have carried out a learning for real and a business engagement activity with their students before the end of their second year in teaching. 19. Recommendation: Vocational and practical learning should be part of the new MA in Teaching and Learning and NCSL programmes. 20. Edge welcomes introduction of the MA in Teaching and Learning and that the emphasis of the qualification will be application to the teacher’s practice. As part of this it is very important that the professional development of teachers of vocational studies should be specifically recognised. In particular it is essential that these teachers are up to date with the developments in the relevant employment sector. To this end we would like to see secondments to a business being an optional part of the MA. 21. The leadership of vocational programmes in schools requires some diVerent approaches from the leadership in a school which oVers only academic subjects. There needs to be an appreciation that such courses reflect the needs of a particular vocation which change rapidly and that the simple transfer of a teacher from teaching academic subjects to a vocational subject without in-depth training in unlikely to be successful. Edge therefore believes that the programmes oVered by NCSL should reflect this. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the National Network of Science Learning Centres CPD Provision — whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent; and — the adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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About the Responding Organisation 1. This response is made by the National Science Learning Centre together with the nine regional Science Learning. The network of Science Learning Centres was established to oVer Continuing Professional Development to a great proportion of schools and colleges that can benefit most from professional development oVer. This oVer has been shown to be excellent by external evaluation. We also seek to influence schools, stakeholders and policymakers to value professional development as the foundation of excellence in education. Above all, Continuing Professional Development is only useful if it has an impact on the learning and engagement of pupils. Quality, reach, influence and impact are the principles that underpin the work of the network. 2. Teachers hold the key to inspiring and educating the next generation of researchers, either to become professional scientists or informed citizens in a world dominated by science and technology. Excellent Continuing Professional Development (CPD) can inspire teachers with better, more up-to-date subject knowledge and innovative, creative teaching skills. 3. The national network of Science Learning Centres represents only one subject area, but we believe that due to the generous funding we have received from government, industry and the Wellcome Trust, we have been able to set a standard for professional development for all subject areas. 4. Since opening in late 2005, nearly 5000 science teachers and technicians have attended the National Science Learning Centre and further 40,000 have attended the regional Science Learning Centres. Our target is to reach over 13,000 teachers every year from now on.

Summary 5. From our experience of providing CPD for science educators, we oVer the following general recommendations. The remainder of this document then provides further detail from the perspective of the Science Learning Centres to back up these recommendations. 6. Recommendation 1: Priority should be given to subject-speciﬁc CPD to strengthen teachers’ subject knowledge and teaching skills. 7. Recommendation 2: CPD should be provided through a blend of models, including: — External delivery—this provides opportunities for teachers to meet experts and to exchange experiences with other practitioners. — School-based delivery (individual schools and clusters). — Other modes, eg online. 8. Recommendation 3: The expectations of quality in CPD need to be raised for all involved in education. 9. Recommendation 4: More needs to be done to incentivise participation in CPD. This includes: — Accreditation of outcomes. — Realistic budgets for CPD, if possible ring-fenced for the purpose. — A stronger link between performance review and CPD. — Consideration of making CPD a requirement of the “license to operate”, as in Scotland and in the FE system, and in other professions such as the law. 10. Recommendation 5: CPD needs to be seen as a career long process rather than a disconnected series of short experiences. It needs to be approached systematically rather than piecemeal. 11. Recommendation 6: Measurement of impact of professional development should become part of its implementation.

Audience 12. It is important that teachers from being newly qualiﬁed, to teachers beginning to gain responsibility, to those holding responsibility, that is subject leads in primary schools or heads of department in secondary and the FE sector can access professional development. 13. This response is concerned with the science teaching community but also recognises that two other groups of people require professional development as they are called upon to support this community: — support staV, especially laboratory technicians and Teaching Assistants who help in the science area; and — supply staV, again especially those that are required to cover science lessons. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Programme 14. The science education community requires a coherent programme to engage teachers at diVerent stages of their professional lives. There a number of reasons for this. 15. Firstly the pace of change in scientific knowledge is very fast moving, and the current curriculum requires teachers to cover “how science works”. Teachers will need to up-date and enrich their own knowledge and appreciation of where the scientific community is focusing its attention. This requires time and access to the research community. The national network of Science Learning Centres is committed to ensuring its programme comprises significant amounts of professional development that will address this area of need, and indeed has been working closely with Research Councils UK for a number of years to bring together more closely the science community with their colleagues who work in science education. 16. Secondly, science is a practical subject and the technologies used to advance subject knowledge are again moving forward rapidly. It is important that school science reflects this, and that teachers are competent and confident to use a range of practical activities and technologies in their teaching both to motivate their pupils but also to help young people to develop an ability and interest in this range of skills. 17. Teachers teaching outside their specialist areas of knowledge require additional support in teaching across the science curriculum to GCSE level and sometimes beyond this, eg teachers with a degree in biological science teaching physical sciences. 18. The content of the Science Learning Centre programme is based upon comprehensive, market research to meet national, school/college and individual need. The Network has drawn upon evidence from the science education community in schools and colleges, science education researchers, the science community, professional bodies, and government statements and papers to design and develop the programme of courses to meet the needs of teachers, technicians and teaching assistants at various stages of their career from the end of their first year to those who are seeking, or in, leadership roles. Thus as new initiatives are introduced, such as Triple Science, the network can respond in providing tailored courses that look at teaching science to more able pupils and expanding the range of activities required by the specific Triple Science specifications. 19. The network strives to achieve the highest of quality and innovation in the programme. To ensure the courses and events generate inspired science teaching in schools and colleges the course model good practice. Thus the courses themselves are rich with new ideas delivered in a way to excite and enthuse participants to try new practices in schools and colleges which in turn will excite and motivate young people to appreciate the science around them, and for some to continue with their studies into scientific careers. 20. The Science Learning Centre Network has since its inception been committed to providing four strands in each course: pedagogical content knowledge, creativity and innovation, leadership through building capacity and developing knowledge of contemporary science. 21. The programme provided by the Science Learning Centres addresses: — all subject areas of the curriculum, including biology, chemistry, physics, psychology, earth science, astronomy, science within technology and engineering, numeracy in science, applied and vocational science, science in vocational and adult courses; — subject pedagogical content knowledge (teachers own knowledge of science and how they develop teaching approaches from this for pupils of diVering ability and background); — new curriculum as it is introduced; and — the needs of specific groups of learners, special education needs, gifted and talented, gender and ethnic groupings.

Entitlement 22. Teachers are entitled to professional development but there is evidence87 that many teachers of science are not able to participate in subject specific professional development. This can be for a variety of reasons, such as inadequate time, funding and supply cover. 23. There is a need to emphasise the importance of subject specific professional development with head teachers, significant numbers of whom are not inclined to give high priority to this. 24. There is a need for ring-fenced professional development budgets in schools and colleges to allow every teacher opportunities to engage with appropriate professional development that relates to their subject area. 25. It is important that professional development for the science education community is oVered through a variety of delivery modes in order to reach the greatest number of people, and to make the most of the strengths of the various learning environments. These modes could include: — face to face courses; — workshops;

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— curriculum development; — on-line courses; — bespoke events in school/college; — group/paired training; — coaching/mentoring; — action research; — conferences; and — mixed delivery (combined elements of f2f, on-line, bespoke).

Accreditation 26. In consultation with the Association for Science Education, the national network of Science Learning Centre is considering routes to both professional and academic accreditation. The aim is to provide an incentive to all participating in professional development by acknowledging how the opportunity has contributed to their personal development and to their contribution to the school and college planning and performance. Professional development will be linked to schemes such as the General Teaching Council’s Teacher Learner academy which recognises the learning journey a teacher undertakes through professional development and how they inﬂuence colleagues and pupils engagement. More importantly, we are looking at opportunities to create an award-bearing scheme across the network, in partnership with the Centre host HEIs, allowing participants to accrue M-level credits which they can then put towards a masters degree, possibly the new Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL).

Quality,Impact and Evaluation 27. In order to ensure maximum involvement in professional development the quality of the provision is paramount. It must meet need—national, school/college and the individual. 28. However it is also important that protocols are established so that both the provider and the learning institution monitor the eVectiveness of professional development episode on meeting these needs. Tools have been developed by the Science Learning Centre network to look at participant engagement and the changes to their knowledge, skills and/or values and to measure the impact of new practice that becomes embedded in the culture of the teachers’ institution. 29. We oVer on-going practical and relevant support to participants to encourage reﬂective practice once they return to school/college. 30. We encourage the participants to measure impact on learner engagement, both in terms of their attainment and equally important their attitude to and enjoyment of science. Where possible we also encourage the participants to disseminate the outcomes of their own learning and to share good practice. February 2009

Supplementary memorandum submitted by the National Network of Science Learning Centres Mission of the Network The mission of the National Network of 10 Science Learning Centres is to inspire a new generation of scientists by inspiring their teachers, through provision of high quality professional development.

Progression in Professional Development Professional development starts in initial teacher education (ITE) for both primary and secondary teachers including: 1. The development of teaching skills in specialist science subjects at secondary level, and science at primary level. 2. The development of some subject knowledge outside the trainee’s subject specialism. 3. Progression towards achievement of the standards for Qualiﬁed Teacher Status and further Professional Standards. Professional development continues in the induction year and beyond, principally in these same three areas. The focus of the Science Learning Centres Network’s support, currently, is mainly on induction of newly qualiﬁed teachers (NQTs) and beyond, as funding and time to support attendance on professional development programmes is triggered at the school level. Judgement is made by the teacher, their line manager and the professional development leader in the school about the teacher’s professional development to support his/her needs and the priorities of the school. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Existing Links with Initial Teacher Education Centres in the Network currently work with initial teacher education providers but not in a systematic, network-wide, way—principally because of funding limitations and the contractual remit of the regional centres. Examples of existing links of Science Learning Centres with initial teacher education provision include: — Trainees taking part in Regional Science Learning Centre courses on an ad-hoc basis where places on courses are available. — Regional Centres working with ITE providers to establish an enrichment programme for a cohort of trainees, particularly on extending subject knowledge (externally funded by the TDA or educational charities). — Co-location of some Centres with ITE staV, allowing transfer of teaching and support for trainees and in-service teachers. — Annual events in June to welcome Newly Qualified Teachers into the profession and to demonstrate the support available for their career development, including taster sessions. — At the National Centre, provision of a summer school for newly qualified teachers from across the UK. The benefits of teachers being involved with the Science Learning Centres during their initial training include: — Their recognition that subject-specific professional development is important throughout their career, and is both an entitlement and an obligation. — Sharing of their experience and developing expertise with science teachers across the region and country, including an understanding that the network of Science Learning Centres can provide the same science-specific support wherever they are employed. — High-quality support that can add to their experience, whatever their route into teaching—for example, Science Learning Centres can support and extend trainees’ experience of leading safe and eVective practical work, an aspect that can be of variable quality in initial teacher education depending on systematic access to specialist facilities. — Early access to the National STEM Centre’s resources, particularly the e-library,to enable a career- long recognition of the availability of high quality resources to support eVective learning in science.

Future Opportunities for Increased Involvement of the Science Learning Centre in ITE There is potential for more systematic involvement of the National Network of Science Learning Centres in ITE. All of the following examples could be features of a career-long progression of systematic professional development. Implementation would require considerable negotiation with ITE providers given the packed nature of initial teacher education programmes and the management of ITE funding. Examples of Network activities that could be undertaken include: — Each trainee teacher attends a Science Learning Centre course in the summer term relevant to their targets for their induction year. This provides a natural bridge to their first post, strengthening their progression in eVective teaching. (There may need to be change of the current Science Learning Centres contract with DCSF to allow this.) — The Network provides trainees with support for elements 1 and 2, (outlined above) in their initial teacher education. For example, additional support in specialist subject knowledge or enhanced training in use of practical work could be provided to assist in ensuring all NQTs are starting at similar, high levels of expertise. This would require additional funding or funding and time transfer from ITE providers. — Identification of specific QTS standards, eg specific subject knowledge; specific teaching skills, that could best be met through trainees’ involvement in the Network of Science Learning Centres rather than, or in addition to, their engagement with their ITE provider. This would require national agreement and appropriate funding. Professor Mary RatcliVe Associate Director National Science Learning Centre September 2009 Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Further supplementary memorandum submitted by the National Network of Science Learning Centres and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics Since submitting our earlier evidence, some signiﬁcant recent developments have taken place. This note highlights some consequences of these developments, with particular emphasis on the need for subject leadership.

1. The Changing Context The White Paper “21st Century Schools” signals signiﬁcant changes to the context within which schools will operate. A General Election is due by May 2009, and whichever party wins, the direction (if not the speed) of change is clear. — There will be fewer top-down directives and initiatives and funding will be more ﬁrmly delegated to schools. The National Strategies (NS) will come to an end from March 2011. — There will be increasing emphasis on continuing professional development (CPD) based in schools and school clusters. Local Authorities (LAs) may have less capacity to support schools. — Central government funding to all initiatives and services will come under intense pressure. The general direction of travel is likely to apply to FE colleges as well as to schools.

2. Subject Leadership in this New Context In this new context, there will be a changed, and increased, need for subject leadership at school, local, regional and national level. This paper is about how that leadership might be provided in the two subjects fundamental to STEM: science and mathematics, both of which face similar challenges in terms of engagement, subject knowledge and limited specialist teacher capacity. It proposes that systematic, subject- focussed CPD is fundamental to eVective subject leadership. Schools and colleges will need and want to take advantage of the freedom oVered by a less centrally directed approach. Subject leadership at school level is crucial to achieving this. Schools and colleges have always needed good subject leaders, strongly backed by senior management—this will be even more important in a less regulated environment. There is likely to be an increased need for professional development for subject leaders (secondary) and co-ordinators (primary), and for teachers and subject leaders to get together to share good practice. The Primary Mathematics Support Programme arising from the Williams Review will need to be sustained. Some schools will be self-confident and self-suYcient and will thrive in this new environment. Many schools will be active members of local school clusters and will benefit from these collaborative networks and the CPD they provide. But some schools will be isolated, so there will be a continuing need for subject leadership at local level. At present this comes from LAs, from ad-hoc school clusters and from subject leaders’ meetings convened by National Strategy consultants. While strong self-starting school clusters are the ideal way forward, there will be gaps: some of these will be filled by LAs, some will not, because many LAs will have no subject specialist staV. With less central funding available to provide subject-specific advice, some LAs will be less able to provide such support. This may particularly be the case with smaller LAs—and while LAs, like schools, will be able to work in clusters, there will inevitably be gaps in local coverage. To ensure that no school is left out, subject leadership at regional level will be needed, to map provision by LAs and local clusters, set up ways to share good practice or introduce new ideas, and ensure gaps are filled and that high quality subject specific CPD is within reach of every school. Although there will be less emphasis on centrally-directed initiatives, there will still be some need for a national agenda-setting activity providing subject leadership at the national level. This needs to be a two-way channel, feeding intelligence from schools to national government and vice-versa—for example, at times of curriculum change. This could be achieved by building on the system already established by the national CPD committees for Science and Mathematics, coordinated by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) and the National Science Learning Centre (NSLC).

3. How might subject leadership be provided for science and mathematics? This paper proposes that subject leadership should be assured for science through the National Science Learning Centre and the network of Science Learning Centres, and for mathematics through the NCETM. The Centres would work with school88 and college partners and, during the transition period until 2011, with the National Strategies (primary and secondary) to embed their legacy. Both the NSLC and the NCETM have strong subject expertise, stemming from their specialist staV and their links with higher education and industry. Both have a national and regional structure, and strong links to schools and LAs.

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Conclusion This note outlines a model for how subject leadership in science and mathematics could be maintained and strengthened in a less regulated school environment. We would be glad to discuss it further. John Holman Director National Science Learning Centre Celia Hoyles Director National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics October 2009

Memorandum submitted by King’s College London Clearly, as a Teacher Training Institution and as a high ranking research establishment, the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King’s College, London are keen to contribute to the debate about teacher training provision. An important aspect of this is that we will endeavour to focus our contribution in terms of developing professional learning rather than simply comment on provision.

Measuring Quality 1. Teaching is a complex task that pivots on a careful balance between thought and action. As a graduate based profession, and one that is likely to demand postgraduate level working from many of its members, it has individuals that have the capacity to work with the cognitive demand needed to convert strong subject knowledge into activities and discussions that enable youngsters to acquire and construct new understanding about the world around them. Teaching also requires teachers to respond to individuals needs in the short-term as learning is taking place, in the medium term, through planning next steps in response to how a learner has responded to their previous learning activities and in the long term in planning an educational journey for each child in their class that ensures progress and full potential is achieved. 2. The problem with the current ways of defining and describing quality in teaching is that they are often approached in an atomistic manner rather than taking a holistic approach and they depend more on having done something rather than examining the processes and amalgamation of skills that lead towards quality. This can lead to a checklist approach towards competency at each level rather than create a cycle of reflection, targeting and action research that leads to further reflection. In the extreme, this could mean that a teacher could be successful in each aspect considered—questioning, planning, assessing etc.—but if these skills are not linked and the workings from one used to shape and hone the others, then it is likely that the teacher may not teach in a way that aVects the learning. The irony here being that s/he may be categorised as a good teacher and yet learning is not taking place.

The delivery of ITT 3. Currently the role of higher education institutions in ITT is too narrow. InsuYcient attention is given to equipping intending teachers with the understanding needed to develop professional judgment, particularly as they rise into more senior positions within the profession. Teachers need a better understanding than they currently have of: — The nature of educational aims. — The relationship between aims and curriculum design and the extent to which the National Curriculum allows for innovation. — The literature on the eYcacy of various pedagogical approaches. — The nature, purpose and diVerent forms of educational assessment. — The nature, design, strengths and limitations of educational research.

Such understanding should include an appreciation of the philosophical issues germane to these areas and an appreciation of the contested nature of decision-making in these areas. 4. More speciﬁcally, the academic underpinning of certain key areas is insuYcient. This includes understanding of the diVerences between literacy and the use of spoken language, research on the teaching of reading and writing and study of applied linguistics and psychology related to these areas. This recommendation is of particular relevance to primary school teachers. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 5. This relationship needs to be rethought with particular attention paid to the professional development of mentors within the partner HE institution so that there is more of a common purpose in their joint approach and also so that the school based mentors are properly equipped and given suYcient time to carry out their role. Devolved funding for schools needs to be rigorously accounted for.

The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings; 6. Development opportunities are varied and often concentrated into 3–4 days in any year and, where provided, are not always taken up by the mentors. It would help if successful mentoring of ITT students over a period of two to three years were seen as an essential skill for experienced teachers and middle managers to demonstrate to gain promotion or enhanced salaries. Currently, the role of mentoring ITT trainees in some schools is devolved to inexperienced staV and, in some cases; NQTs and these colleagues do not have the necessary skills and experience to do this job eVectively

The role of educational research in informing ITT provision. 7. Intending teachers need a much more thorough grasp of the nature, role, limitations and strengths and methodologies employed in educational research. They should be equipped to be able to understand research papers and to assess the relevance of such research to their own professional practice and the development of their own professional judgements and be able to devise adequate training provision in these areas for their trainees.

CPD provision 8. Clearly as a teacher progresses from NQT, to experienced classroom teacher, to Head of Department and Senior Leader, they need to acquire a whole new range of skills to help others manage changing curricular, assessment processes and new teaching and learning initiatives, as well as providing quality assurance and communication with parents, governors and local authority personnel. At the moment, much of the training focuses on the experience that teachers have to enable them to enter the profession with teacher development, at later stages, usually allocated to single day events that inform rather than aVect or transform practice. The research strongly supports the idea of regular long term professional development, where teachers are encouraged and supported in developing the high level skills they need to be successful throughout their career. The McCron agreement in Scotland has made professional development an accepted part of all teachers’ careers development and a similar move here in England would be a useful start to changing the mindsets of schools about how professional development could be done more eVectively. 9. A way forward here might be through the use of formative portfolios where the teacher, supported by a mentor and peers at a similar stage of development, decides where to pitch their eVorts to improve their teaching and collects both qualitative and quantitative evidence from their classroom to help them decide how successful or not the changes they are making are in relation to the learning, self-esteem and motivation of their students. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the University of Northampton, School of Education Institutional Context The School of Education at the University of Northampton is committed to lifelong learning and career- long support. A core element of its work is the provision of courses leading to Qualiﬁed Teacher Status (QTS) and Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) as well as in providing Masters and Doctorate awards in Education. The School has a national reputation for excellence and over 30 year’s experience in teacher training. We achieved top ratings in our Ofsted inspection (2006 and 2008. Its staV come from professional, academic, research, technical and support backgrounds, creating a rich team of practitioner and academic expertise. An underpinning theme in all our work is the maintenance and continued enhancement of a positive working relationship with our partner schools and other education and care settings.

The Evidence The evidence collated in this response has been obtained from a shared process which has involved seeking the opinions and viewpoints of teacher trainers in the School of Education at The University of Northampton, and those who work alongside or in support of them. As such the evidence we provide does not comprise an oYcial, institutional view, but rather a set of “issues raised” by individual colleagues. As a collected narrative, however, it is consistent with the prevailing perceptions of a large body of experienced professionals working in the ﬁeld. We make 39 substantive points Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The response provides comments under each of the requested headings, which are given as bullet points in this document. The key themes are summarised in Figure 1, below:

Figure 1 SUMMARY OF UNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTON’S EVIDENCE TO THE NEW INQUIRY INTO TEACHER TRAINING, 2009 Summary Points — Greater collaboration between HEI providers should be encouraged. — Current ITT inspection regime is restrictive & inhibits innovation. — More ﬂexible entry pathways should be explored to stimulate applications from those with particular aptitudes. —EYcacy of QTS Skills Testing on exit is debatable. — Tuition fees have a negative impact on PGCE recruitment. — Links between HEI & Schools and care settings should be re-examined, particularly roles & responsibilities and the issue of placement-variation(s). — The notion of “training schools” directly linked to HEI should be explored and trialed. — Issues apparent in both Early Years and post-16 sectors. — Lack of opportunity for HEI tutors on ITT programmes to engage in research. — No systematic linkage between schools & care settings and HEI providers in relation to CPD. — M-level recruitment remains diYcult, in spite of ﬁnancial support from TDA. — Too little school/setting-based CPD addresses immediate issues and concern knowledge-giving, rather than development. Little medium or long term joint strategic planning between schools and HEI.

Measuring Quality The extent to which there is an evidence base for and shared sense of what makes for good quality teaching 1. This item is subject to confusion: does teaching refer to that undertaken in schools, and for which trainee teachers are prepared by ITT providers, or does it refer to the “teaching” that is undertaken during ITT courses themselves? Evidence of the quality and eVectiveness of both is currently and mainly provided by oYcial sources (mainly Ofsted) which can be used as the basis for “good quality teaching”. The degree to which such judgements are accurate is open to at least some question. 2. Accordingly, there could be signiﬁcant value in (re)introducing facilitated peer-evaluations of ITT providers, in which institutions and partner schools/settings were integrally involved. Such a process could quite easily be quality assured from the centre, and would result in signiﬁcant professional learning and (we believe) important value-added gains in the enhancement of learning and teaching in both ITT settings and schools. 3. The introduction of the generic professional standards that operate across all phases of schooling (though not the post-compulsory Lifelong Learning sector) alongside the establishment of the requirements for ITT has been a highly positive driver in establishing a shared public understanding of entry standards for the teaching profession. 4. The introduction of the Self-Evaluation Document (SED) is an important development in establishing the importance of the ITT provider undertaking its own critical review of evidence annually as the basis for external audit and inspection.

The ways in which the quality of teaching can be measured 5. Again, one way of measuring this is the Ofsted inspection (see above). But one might wish to query whether these are too narrow in focus. They do not, for instance, substantively address issues of teacher- training “pedagogy”, with a result that practices in this important element of provision are insuYciently disseminated and critiqued within the community and may not have not advanced as rapidly or universally as they should have done. 6. Further, it could be argued that a narrow focus fails to consider important issues of concern across the education sector as a whole—for example, pupil behaviour, special educational needs, diversity and equality and citizenship/values education. This does little to develop further the important personal values that teachers must have—and which are of crucial importance in enabling them to be resilient when faced with challenging situations in some schools. A summary view from one colleague suggests that “It could be argued that the implied deﬁnition is too narrowly cast and couched largely in terms of tangible outcomes rather than lasting values and attitudes” Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Entry into the Teaching Profession The characteristics of those who are most likely to be good teachers and the extent to which they are reflected in current entry requirements for ITT 7. Whilst there is a significant and embedded support for the moves in the last 15 years to develop the graduate/professional status of teaching, there is a noticeable level of awareness that formal qualifications (including GCSE and Baccalaureate) should form just one aspect of a decision to grant a training place to a candidate. 8. More open, facilitated discussion on entry-levels, incorporating consideration of the aVective qualities which are crucial to enabling teachers to connect with a broad range of learners, including (vitally) those who have become disengaged from the formal education process. Providers do make these judgements themselves but the opportunity to establish these attributes nationally would support the development of a consensus.

The appropriateness of the way in which trainee numbers and trainee quality are prioritised in the management of training places at national level 9. There is a consensus view that the current way in which training places are allocated is not sensitive enough to address diVerences or imbalances in local and/or regional needs. Moreover, a view was expressed that more flexibility and openness be introduced to discussions between providers and government with regard to trainee numbers. 10. There is a stark contrast between the identification of secondary priority subjects at national level and the views of head-teachers who find recruitment across all secondary subjects problematic. 11. There is a strong negative view in relation to the current exit QTS Skills Test standard with a common view expressed that these should be removed or if it remains a requirement then establish it as an entry requirement for ITT.

Whether the current range of routes into teaching is eVective in attracting and developing those with the qualifications, skills and attributes to become good teachers 12. There is a view that the current range of pathways into teaching represents a significant advancement from the position obtaining 15 or more years ago. The opportunities oVered by this extended range of routes can, however, be somewhat diminished by the limitations of the current system of selecting trainees for programmes (see above). 13. Routes that support progress to QTS for the growing number of secondary specialist teaching assistant and HLTA should be further supported through funding. 14. The tuition fee for PGCE students has a negative impact on recruitment and is a deterrent to a strategy that aims to recruit from “the best” graduates. 15. There are indications of a view, held by some colleagues, that school-based pathways are sometimes more dependent on HEI providers for specialist aspects of courses and, in particular, quality-assurance issues. Further, the suggestion has been made that school-based pathways can diminish opportunities for trainees to develop as critically-reflective practitioners and to be exposed to a wider range of pedagogy and whole-school practices. The importance of partnership between schools and HE providers contributing according to their strengths should be established.

The adequacy of current measures to improve the diversity of the teaching profession The extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession, whether they intend to teach in primary schools, secondary schools, early years settings or further education settings. (Comments are particularly welcome on whether provision meets the needs of new teachers in working with pupils with special education needs and of new teachers based in schools operating in more challenging circumstances) 16. Phase and subject speciﬁc training is exceptionally well developed in ITT in relation to school teaching. The common set of generic professional standards works well across primary and secondary. However, there are issues in relation to the post-compulsory life-long learning sector operating a diVerent approach to professional standards and ITT requirements that will become untenable given the development of 14–19 diplomas which will require teachers to work across schools and FE. The introduction of the EYPS role has also introduced some confusion in relation to ITT requirements for early years teachers that needs to be resolved. 17. Our view, represented by a number of colleagues oVering feedback on this issue, is that teaching—in common with several other professions—has not really been representative of the general constituency of the population of England. Minority groups are consistently under-represented, and active recruitment approaches to address this situation have seen only limited success. This failure suggests that this may, therefore, be a structural component of society at large. Measures aimed at discriminating positively towards, for example BME trainees or male trainees on primary-range ITT programmes are fraught with diYculties, notably relating to QA issues. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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18. There have been notable ITT initiatives in recent years, funded by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) in the areas of Special Educational Needs (SEN), behaviour and multiculturalism and diversity. These have, broadly speaking, seen qualitative positive changes to levels of trainee and newly- qualiﬁed teacher conﬁdence. These targeted initiatives need to be maintained and progressed—the tendency in the sector has been for initiatives such as “Behaviour for Learning” (www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk) to be episodic and funded over a limited period of time, with a consequent sense that such important aspects of professional education as these become marginalised in the minds of both trainees and the general body of teacher trainers.

19. There is a concern that the content of ITT continually grows with the identification of new priorities. ITT represents a limited time for professional developments to take place. Establishing a coherent curriculum for development across ITT and Induction with an entitlement to specific training and professional development in relation to identified priorities is likely to achieve greater levels of achievement in relation to both professional standards and these priority areas.

The Delivery of ITT The extent to which the current ITT system encourages innovation and diversity in approaches to ITT 20. A strongly held view that the way that ITT “standards” are being inspected has led to a reduced inclination to be experimental and divergent in pedagogy. This is paradoxical to the way in which the revised national standards for QTS are framed. The latter appear to oVer course providers with ﬂexibility and a framework within which individual approaches can be developed, appropriate to speciﬁc settings, regions and populations.

21. A uniform and mainly inflexible inspection process is a major limitation on the willingness of ITT providers to innovate. One colleague summarised this by stating that “The present system, based around a rigid standards framework, stifles innovation, risk-taking and diversity of provision. The standards framework has clearly raised the quality of entrants to the profession significantly, but it is now time to consider whether this has been at the expense of innovation and original thinking about teaching and learning”

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 22. Too few of those involved directly in the training of teachers have opportunities to be involved in research relating to aspects of its provision. There can be a degree of alienation from the products of educational research conducted by perceived “outsiders” because of this (see also para. 20).

23. The lack of engagement in “research” is mainly caused by the labour-intensity of supporting trainees; this leaves tutors and others involved in ITT with little dedicated time to conduct their own research or to participate in that of others.

24. As a result it is possible to highlight a paradox: the notion of practitioner-researcher has become a signiﬁcant dimension of extending the professionalism of teachers. This can only be enhanced by ensuring that those ITT tutors who have most close contact with schools are given structured and strategically planned opportunities to engage in research.

Whether the current nature of partnership working between schools and higher education institutions in the delivery of ITT is sustainable 25. There is an imbalance in the relationship between ITT providers and schools caused by their unequal responsibilities regarding provision of training placements for trainees. University providers have to secure places for trainees but schools have a choice. All too often schools featuring highly in performance or league tables are reluctant to take on trainees because they perceive that they might damage children’s education in some way. Increasingly such schools are intolerant of students who are struggling. If there was some link between positive inspection reports and school’s training function then that might improve the situation. Currently a signiﬁcant amount of time and money is wasted in securing training places.

26. The idea of “training schools” attached to a University or other HEI is not at all well-developed in England. There is support for a series of national pilot studies in order to determine the eYcacy of this approach.

27. A further instance of the unequal relationship between schools and HEI is to be seen in the degree to which school placements are supported by mentors in schools. Whilst HEI undertake to ensure that a uniform high quality of mentor support for trainees is available, this again is very much mediated by the commitment of the school and the residual skills of staV designated to undertake this role. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The adequacy of development opportunities for those involved in the delivery of ITT, including those who are based in higher education institutions, schools and other settings; and The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 28. Research and other development activity should be a crucial component of the work of those involved in ITT. Not only does it cast new light or alternative dimensions on ITT pedagogy, but it also provides important modelling of one of the current development areas in teacher training—that of the teacher-as- researcher. One colleague expressed this in forthright terms: “I would like to say something about the assumption that we undertake research as teachers or lecturers by ﬁtting it in around our teaching. The inquiry needs to look at what opportunities for research really arise and are allocated ring-fenced time”. 29. Engagement in research is vital also if HEI are to eVectively support new developments in Masters- level practice (including the new MTL). Teachers will need role-models via which tutors, experienced in ITT pedagogy,are able to oVer direct examples of good practice in what comprises relevant and practically useful research projects and other such activity.

CPD Provision Whether current CPD provision for new teachers, experienced teachers and head teachers supports and enhances their practice in school and, if so, to what extent 30. Considerable variation in access to high-quality professional development is a feature of the sector. All too frequently “training” rather than “development” occurs. Such instrumentalist activity is mainly focussed around a didactic pedagogy, in which knowledge is delivered rather than scrutinised reflectively. 31. There has been a substantive uncoupling of training and professional development from higher level study since the introduction of some qualification, such as NPQH. 32. Further, HEI providers have faced considerable diYculties in recruitment to M-level programmes; too frequently it is claimed that schools are unable to aVord places on (for example) practice-related M-level modules. The TDA’s support for course development at M-level has enabled providers to oVer reduced fees; even so, there is a continued struggle to recruit. 33. Teachers and head-teachers are reluctant to support the extent of study required to gain access to the TDA funding for postgraduate professional development. The TDA PPD funding is only available if teachers study for a specific M award requiring a high level of engagement across a single year (generally 60 CATs). This does not match teachers and head-teachers requirements for bite-size professional development integrated with M level study that leads to the acquisition of awards over a longer period. This mode of study can accommodate teachers who are working under challenging time constraints and importantly support a greater critical engagement between an individual’s experience of teaching and experience of professional development. 34. HEI do not have a systematic or defined linkage with those in schools responsible for professional development. Sometimes this role is indistinct in schools, and there are great variations in the way in which schools devolve responsibility for this aspect of management. 35. Partnership arrangements between schools and HEI, so strong and purposeful in ITT provision, are far more tenuous in CPD. These need to be strategically developed, with a clear lead being provided from the centre (DCSF). 36. During the past 15 years, schools have established themselves as increasingly independent institutions with a loss of formal arrangements between schools and local authorities and the previous mechanisms for developing systematic CPD arrangement across an area. This has led to a situation where HEI providers must generally deal with each school individually with a consequent impact on resources. 37. There appears to have been a major shift from schools using CPD funding to support teachers on M level study towards funding one-oV staV development events. This shift is also likely to have been influenced by the Government’s emphasis on teachers “learning from each other”. A strong view expressed is that schools own “in-house” CPD can be more eVective when it is supported externally by an HEI provider who can bring a breadth of knowledge of other practice, nationally and internationally to the table.

The adequacy of current arrangements for tracking the impact of and spending on CPD provision 38. The lack of clarity in CPD arrangements, noted above, results in a general incapacity to measure the usefulness or impact of CPD. Moreover, the tendency is to look away from “personal” development and the aVective, more subliminal value-added dimensions of professional development. There is a preoccupation, for instance, with pupil performance rather than with curriculum or pedagogical development. One colleague was thus inclined to observe that “Opportunities to step back from the chalk face are far too limited and schools and teachers too restricted by a narrow focus on results as measured in national tests. Teachers have been drawn away from “making the important measurable” towards “making the measurable important”. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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39. The model of government accreditation of some HEI providers (and others) to deliver ITT has been highly successful in delivering high volume and high quality pre-service professional development. A comparable model to deliver CPD across the ﬁrst ﬁve years of teaching ie pre-threshold that integrates professional standards, license to teach and higher level awards might oVer the high volume, high quality returns that have not been achieved in CPD.

* Please note that, whilst we use the term Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in this submission (because this is the term required in the DCSF request for evidence), our preference is for the re-introduction of the term ITE (Initial teacher Education), this being more applicable to the process of preparing graduates for entry into teaching as it proscribes the notion of independent critical judgement, itself a vital component of individualised learning. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the University of Bristol, Graduate School of Education This submission represents the views of the Graduate School of Education, The University of Bristol

Executive Summary — The quality of our trainees derives from a well-structured, well-managed, coherent, current and vibrant training programme that enthuses trainees. — Much of the research and practice-based inquiry undertaken by students in schools directly benefits all partner organisations. — The influence of school-based training mentors on their colleagues is hard to estimate, but their role as training champions and their focus on development is likely to be hugely influential in whole-school development. — We would urge the Committee to recommend that Ofsted formally address the issue of the wider benefits of collaborative working between schools and higher education institutions in their inspections of and their wider involvement with schools. — At a time when it perhaps is more important than ever to encourage joined-up thinking across the education sector, it seems sensible to look for ways of strengthening existing collaborative working and seek ways of extending it. Any appraisal of training regimes would do well to look beyond the quality of outcomes expressed in terms of the capabilities of trainees, important though these are. This submission to the Select Committee expresses the views of the University of Bristol as HEI provider in a long-established, high-quality and vibrant partnership with local and regional schools. All partners know, from Ofsted inspections and from feedback from destination schools, that our trainees are of the highest quality, and that this derives from a well-structured, well-managed, coherent and current training programme that enthuses trainees. Such characteristics are not exclusive to us, nor to similar models of training. This submission acknowledges and celebrates diversity of approach, but seeks to elaborate on wider aspects of two-way educational development that accrue from a close working relationship between diVerent sectors. There is much evidence (garnered principally from our annual evaluation of all aspects of ITT and the subsequent annual conference at which the outcomes are discussed) that those schools and teachers involved in our partnership derive great benefit from the enterprise. At an organisational level, both schools and the University report gains from working together. Schools welcome the fresh thinking, new ideas and approaches and vitality that students bring to departments and the life of the school. They have access to and knowledge of a wider pool of talented young teachers than would otherwise be possible. We know from feedback, for example, that much of the research and practice-based inquiry undertaken by students in schools directly benefits the organisation. In turn, the University gains from a training regime that sees school and the University training sites as parts of a whole. The Graduate School of Education is able to assess emergent policies against their impact at local, regional and national level through both research and the direct experience of their impact on practice through working closely with school leaders in the many organisations that are involved in our partnership. This leads, in turn, to wider internal dissemination and consultancy in other departments. This point is expanded in a later section. Schoolteachers working as subject and professional mentors are rejuvenated and often re-motivated as a consequence of working with groups of high-quality student teachers. Their frameworks for self-evaluation (both individual and collective) are sharpened by, for example, formally and informally assessing student competencies and capabilities against the standards expected of newly-qualified teachers. Their influence on colleagues is hard to estimate, but their role as training champions and their focus on development is likely to be hugely influential in whole-school development. The growth of school-based training as a component Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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of an HEI & schools partnership has provided professional development opportunities for University staV, who work closely with their school-based colleagues and learn from them the important drivers in a changing school environment. It should be stressed here that schoolteacher involvement in initial teacher training is often undertaken for reasons of personal professional development and/or interest rather than for more tangible rewards. This HEI, like many, seeks to recognise such teaching scholarship and leadership by accrediting training experiences in professional masters programmes. Current moves to make the profession a Masters level one by encouraging continuing scholarship and the development of eVective practice through eg MTL programmes are perhaps the first moves towards formally recognising the priceless work undertaken by school-based training mentors in partnership schemes. It is interesting that school motivation for, and benefits gained from working as partners with HEIs in initial teacher training are not often evaluated by those outside the partnership. It would seem to be appropriate, as the select committee examines ITT, to require this aspect to be formally addressed by Ofsted in their inspections of and wider involvement with schools. Schools, colleges and HEIs are intimately involved in the education and training of future citizens. Integration and collaboration —at the very least communication and contact—have been crucial elements in addressing a range of issues (eg continuity of learning, preparedness for study in a new sector, compatibility of curricula, learning from one another’s cultures of teaching, learning, support, use of ICT and qualifications (and what these might mean for both selection and future provision/support) to name but a few. Government policies that promote, for example, skills development, employability, numeracy and literacy, citizenship, social mobility and inter-agency working are not the sole preserve of schools but involve the close working of all sectors in education and training. This University has publicly committed itself to widening access and participation, for example and recognises that this will have a profound eVect on the teaching approach, the nature of student support and patterns of provision. We have much to learn from working collaboratively with a range of partners in diVerent sectors. At a time when it perhaps is more important than ever to encourage joined-up thinking across the education sector, it seems sensible to look for more ways of encouraging collaborative working. A major cohering factor at present is provided by mutual engagement in initial teacher training, and removal or dilution of this bonding element would seem highly damaging to both the quality of training and the broader developmental possibilities alluded to. This department, and indeed, the wider University, is committed to playing its full part in the educational community. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust Summary — The Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation Trust is pleased to respond to the Teacher Education Consultations: Select Committee request: New Inquiry into Teacher Training. — This response is informed by our extensive experience of work with children, young people, parents and families, as part of multidisciplinary teams. This includes significant outreach work and projects within UK Early Years Settings, Primary and Secondary Schools and Colleges of Further Education. — We would particularly like to comment on the “extent to which existing ITT provision adequately prepares trainees for entry into the teaching profession… (See section “Entry into the Teaching Profession”). — The two central points we would like to make concern: — A. The need for greater input on child & adolescent development within initial teacher training and subsequent CPD inset for newly qualified (and more experienced) teachers. — B. The need for teachers to be helped to develop “reflective practice” though attending “work discussion groups” during initial teacher training and as newly qualified teachers.

1. The need for greater input on child & adolescent development There is a worrying absence of any significant input in teacher training courses relating to child & adolescent personality development or the emotional factors that impact on teaching and learning. 2. We believe it is crucial that there is greater understanding of these fundamental issues which can impact adversely on learning and teaching and which can prevent children and young people from benefiting from education and living healthy, safe and fulfilling lives. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3. For example, within a teacher CPD needs assessment carried out by the Brent Centre for Young People (London) in ten secondary schools, only 12 out of 145 teachers (6.9%) reported that they had “received suYcient training in adolescent development” (see Jackson, 2002 and 2008 attached).89 This is a serious problem which needs to be addressed at the highest level. 4. An eVective, easy and cost eVective way in which this could be addressed is to oVer a series of whole school inset/training on relevant areas such as: — Child and adolescent personality development. — Attachment theories and their impact on learning and social interaction. — Emotional factors in teaching and learning. — Managing the emotional and psychological aspects of the teacher-pupil relationship. — Managing endings, separations and transitions. — Inter-personal and group dynamics. — Where things can go wrong in adolescence. — The impact of neglect and trauma on the developing brain. — How behavioural and attention diYculties can mask speciﬁc psychological issues (eg; depression, attention deﬁcit hyperactivity disorder, autistic spectrum disorders, psychotic symptoms, etc). 5. The Tavistock has extensive experience of providing courses of this nature to professionals and organisations within education and many other sectors (eg Health and Social Services). We would welcome the opportunity of developing further training in conjunction with the Guild HE and other key stakeholders.

Provision of Work Discussion Groups during Initial Teacher Training and as a core component of post-qualified CPD for teachers 6. In addition to the gap in provision in relation to child & adolescent development, there is also a significant absence of adequate support for teachers, during initial teacher training or subsequently, to be helped to develop reflective practice. This might include regular opportunities to think about some of the diYculties and/or concerns they experience with individual pupils, class groups and dynamics, relationships with colleagues etc. 7. The need for this to be provided is necessary to enable teachers and schools to respond adequately and eVectively to the emotional and psychological aspects of the teaching role and function. 8. The need to address this gap in training and support for teachers is also especially important given that most teachers who leave the profession tend to do so due to diYculties they are having in their relationships with pupils, class groups and/or their colleagues (rather than due to work load or diYculties with their curriculum). 9. One eVective method of addressing this gap in training is through the provision of Work Discussion Groups for teachers during their teacher training and NQT years (at the very least).

What are work discussion groups? 10. Work discussion groups provide teachers and other staV with an opportunity to think in depth about any issues, concerns and diYculties they are experiencing in their work with pupils or class groups. These issues are discussed together and, usually, facilitated by an external consultant—often a child & adolescent psychotherapist. The aims of the groups are to help teachers: — Develop understanding about the psychological factors that impact on learning, teaching and emotional wellbeing. — Feel more confident about and supported in work with children whose social and emotional well- being is at risk. — Promote the development of reflective (rather than reactive) practice within the wider culture of the organisation. This is particularly important when addressing and trying to prevent behavioural issues such as bullying and other disruptive behaviour. — Develop understanding about the underlying meaning of pupil behaviour. — Manage the complexities of the pupil-teacher relationship. 11. Work discussion groups are primarily designed to develop (ordinary) reflective practice in teachers in relation to all pupils. While they do also help to address mental health needs and diYculties, this is not their primary task. 12. Work discussion groups have already been identified elsewhere as a model of good practice—please see attached DfES/DoH November 2006 Report on the Implementation of Standard 9 on the NSF for Children, Young People and Maternity Services, Annexe: models of good practice, p 17.

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13. Work Discussion Groups, as described above, have been developed and shown to be very eVective— over many years—by the Tavistock Clinic and other providers such as Brent Centre for Young People in London (Please see references and attachments, including Tavistock Outreach Project in Primary Schools). 14. For example, within Brent secondary school projects, evaluation with over 100 staV has shown that: — 97% of staV reported that they had developed a deeper understanding about the meaning of behaviour. — 91% of staV reported that they had been helped to develop new ways of engaging with challenging or disruptive pupils. — 88% were helped to persevere with challenging pupils when they felt like giving up. — 85% reported feeling less stressed after talking about challenging pupils/class groups. — Projects contributed to a reduction in school exclusions. — Work discussion groups can help to contribute to a reduction in staV absence. For example, the 22 staV attending the fortnightly work discussion group in the pilot school had a signiﬁcantly lower rate of absence than the school staV as a whole—over a three year period. 15. As a direct result of the work developed by child psychotherapists at the Tavistock Clinic and Brent Centre for Young People, other professionals working locally, nationally and internationally have now set up work discussion groups for teachers in other schools. The Tavistock would welcome the opportunity of working with other key stakeholders to develop a commissioned pilot research project to evaluate the impact of work discussion groups on teachers during and after initial teacher training. 16. Publications describing the development of work discussion groups in educational settings are attached90 and include: — Jackson, E. (2002) “Mental Health in Schools—What about the StaV? Thinking about the impact of work discussion groups in school settings”. Journal of Child Psychotherapy, Vol 28, No 2, 129–46. — Jackson, E. (2008) “The development of work discussion groups in educational settings” in Journal of Child Psychotherapy Vol 34, No. 1: 62–82. — Tavistock Outreach Project in Primary Schools—evaluation. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Russell Group Summary — Russell Group universities make a signiﬁcant contribution to ITT provision, accounting for seven of the top ten rated institutions. — In particular, Russell Group universities make an important contribution to teacher training in shortage strategic areas such as sciences, maths and modern languages. — Russell Group universities are also actively involved in Teach First and the Higher Education Access Programme for Schools. — World-class educational research carried out at Russell Group universities helps both to inform their own ITT provision and inﬂuence educational policy and practice more widely. 1. The Russell Group is pleased to make a short submission to the Committee’s inquiry into initial teacher training (ITT). Our submission focuses on two points raised by the Committee about the delivery of ITT: the role of higher education institutions in the provision of ITT and the role of educational research in informing ITT provision.

The role of higher education institutions in relation to ITT and the extent to which they make a distinctive contribution to provision 2. Despite making up only 11% of institutions oVering the postgraduate certiﬁcate in education (PGCE), Russell Group universities educate over 5,800 post-graduate students and almost 1,800 undergraduate students in teacher training.91 3. Russell Group universities have some of the top rated education programmes in the UK—seven of the top ten institutions rated for teacher training are Russell Group universities, with four in the top ﬁve.92 4. Twelve Russell Group universities oVer ITT; they are: — The University of Birmingham;

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— The University of Bristol; — The University of Cambridge; — King’s College London; — The University of Leeds; — The University of Manchester; — The University of Newcastle; — The University of Nottingham; — The University of Oxford; — The University of SheYeld; — The University of Southampton; and — The University of Warwick. 5. Russell Group universities admit high-achieving teacher trainees, the vast majority of whom enter into teaching posts following qualification; — 89% of all final year teacher trainees in Russell Group universities achieved qualified teacher status (QTS) in 2006–07. Of these, 79% are now in a teaching post. In total, 84% of trainees from Russell Group universities are in or seeking a teaching posts.93 6. Russell Group universities are also making an important contribution towards teacher training in shortage subject areas: — A third of all newly qualified science teachers known to be in teaching posts six months after gaining qualified teachers’ status graduated from Russell Group universities.94 — Russell Group universities educate 42% of students taking biology, chemistry and maths and a third of students training for modern foreign languages. 7. Four Russell Group universities—the Universities of Cambridge, Nottingham, Southampton and Warwick—oVer Graduate Teaching Programmes, which are integrated into their ITT provision, in partnership with local authorities and local schools. The programmes are aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of teachers, particularly in shortage or priority subjects. The programmes also have a clear commitment to flexibility and diversity of provision and to ongoing professional development for trainees. 8. Russell Group universities are actively involved in Teach First programmes, which place university graduates into state school classroom. 73% of participants in Teach First are from Russell Group universities. The success of the Teach First programme can be found in Ofsted’s 2008 assessment which found that half of the 2006 cohort achieved the teacher qualification at an outstanding (the highest) level, while some “were judged by inspectors to be amongst the most exceptional trainees produced by any teacher training route.” Participants “have a markedly beneficial impact on the schools involved.”95 9. In particular, Russell Group universities are closely involved in the Teach First Higher Education Access Programme for Schools (HEAPS) which is aimed at improving public progression from Teach First schools to research-intensive universities. Around 60 Ambassadors, who are alumni of Teach First, are being trained to act as mentors. The programme will include a number of events to broaden pupil awareness of higher education, the flagship being a residential course at the University of Cambridge which encourages school students to progress to research-intensive universities.

The role of educational research in informing ITT provision 10. As leading research-intensive institutions, Russell Group universities conduct world-class educational research, including research into primary and secondary education, learning and teaching, and teacher training. Over half of educational research activity in Russell Group universities was rated as 3* (internationally excellent) or 4* (world leading) in the 2008 RAE. 11. Russell Group universities’ Schools of Education are able to undertake research into their own ITT provision which aims to enhance and improve provision, as well as educational research aimed at developing pedagogy, policy and practice in teacher training and teacher development more broadly, which helps to inform national policy initiatives or speciﬁc schemes to improve teacher training. Many projects are funded by organisations such as the Teacher Development Agency or educational trusts

93 Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency. 94 Department for Education and Skills, Answer to Parliamentary Question, 21 June 2007 http://www.parliament.the-stationery-oYce.co.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070621/text/70621w0017.htm 95 Ofsted, Rising to the challenge: a review of the Teach First initial teacher training programme, 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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12. ITT provision in Russell Group universities beneﬁts from its co-location with leading-edge research. Trainees have access to high-quality, research-informed teaching96 and gain from the recognised beneﬁts of research-led learning, in particular developing valuable transferable skills. These include analytical and critical thinking skills; problem solving skills, including approaching new challenges from diVerent perspectives and in new and innovative ways; and the ability to cope with new knowledge—particularly important for teachers’ continuing professional development in the classroom. 13. Some examples of educational research projects at Russell Group universities include the following:

Primary education The University of Cambridge’s Primary Review includes an examination of eVective learning and teaching methods, with a ﬁnal report to discuss evidence, analysis and conclusions together with recommendations for both national policy and the work of schools and other relevant agencies.97

Teacher training in shortage subjects Current research projects by the University of Birmingham’s School of Education include the Physical Sciences Enhancement Project (PhySEP), funded by the Science Enhancement Programme and the Gatsby Charitable Trust. The project was developed to “develop PGCE science student teachers’ knowledge, understanding and pedagogic skills in the teaching and learning of physical sciences through extended and enhanced mentoring” with a view to improving recruitment and retention of teachers. http://www.education.bham.ac.uk/research/projects1/physep/index.shtml The University of Bristol’s Economy of Teaching Maths project aims to establish a collaborative cross- school research group of teachers at the University to investigate the eVective use of current resources to support the learning of mathematics and to develop new ideas. http://www.bris.ac.uk/education/research/projects/project?arg budget code%RK6736

Retention King’s College London’s Centre for Public Policy Research in the Department for Education and Professional Studies has recently completed a TDA-funded research project investigating why minority ethnic trainee teachers withdraw from ITT courses which aimed to enable providers of initial teacher training to recruit and retain suYcient numbers of trainees from minority ethnic groups. The ﬁndings and recommendations have been published by the TDA in a report. King’s has also undertaken the Leverhulme Numeracy Research Programme (1997–2002) and related NuYeld Projects (2001–02 and 2002–03), the largest ever national programmes in primary mathematics which covered many aspects of teaching and learning, and the “Helping science teachers” study on behalf of the Council for Science and Technology. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/research/projects/minority.html http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/research/projects/leverhulme.html http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/sspp/education/research/projects/sciteach.html

ITT provision, support for trainees, and teacher development Newcastle University has carried out an evaluation of its secondary PGCE course to examine the eVectiveness of learning opportunities, cohesion between core elements of the course, progression in the learning and understanding of students, and any additional information and experiences required by participants, aimed at improving the University’s provision. The University has also undertaken an “Evaluation of the impact of teacher research scholarship scheme on teachers’ professional development”, funded by NUT, which looked at how the research scholarship scheme enabled teachers to develop their skills and classroom practices, and provided recommendations on how to develop the scheme in the future. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ecls/research/project/1923 http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ecls/research/project/2587 The University of Leeds’ TDA-funded project on “Initial Teacher Training support research evaluation” is evaluating Behaviour4learning , Multiverse and The Teacher Training Resource Bank , in order to inform decisions by key stakeholders on the further development of these initiatives. The project will be completed in early 2010. http://www.education.leeds.ac.uk/research/aeu/projects.php?project%94&page%1 The University of Manchester’s Teacher Education and Development group focuses upon initial teacher education and teacher development, including the experiences of newly qualiﬁed teachers. Professional learning is explored across areas including mathematics, language and foreign language learning, science

96 The various beneﬁts of being taught by research-active academics are summarized in Coate, K, Barnett, R, and Williams, G, “Relationships Between Teaching and Research in Higher Education in England” in Higher Education Quarterly, Volume 55, No 2, 158–74, 2001. 97 http://www.primaryreview.org.uk/ Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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and technology and diversity and inclusion. Current projects include “Evaluating the impact of the National Partnership Project”, funded and “Training Teachers to Work in Urban Schools”, both funded by the Teacher Training Agency (David Hall). http://www.education.manchester.ac.uk/research/areas/teaching/pedagogy/ February 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Wellcome Trust 1. The Wellcome Trust is the largest charity in the UK. It funds innovative biomedical research, in the UK and internationally, spending over £600 million each year to support the brightest scientists with the best ideas. The Wellcome Trust supports public debate about biomedical research and its impact on health and wellbeing. 2. Through our education programme, the Wellcome Trust is committed to stimulating interest and excitement in science amongst young people, increasing the quality of young people entering biomedical related careers (including teaching) and supporting scientific literacy more broadly. Our submission therefore focuses on the training of teachers of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects and issues of relevance to science education more generally. 3. The Trust welcomes the Committee’s inquiry, as we recognise that: “In essence, school science’s most valuable resource is not its equipment or its laboratories but a cadre of well-qualified, enthusiastic teachers who are justly remunerated for their skills.”98 Ensuring that teachers are well-qualified and enthusiastic will require provision of excellent training both before qualification, and throughout their careers.

Key Messages — Continuity between Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and Continued Professional Development (CPD) should be strengthened. Teachers should expect—and be provided with—opportunities for training throughout the course of their career, and the education sector should provide mechanisms for such development to be recognised. — Promoting teaching careers to high quality STEM graduates is an essential first step on which ITT and CPD can build, in order to provide inspiring science education. — Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) make a distinctive contribution to both ITT and CPD, by providing subject-specific expertise and an understanding of the principles that underpin teaching. — Subject-specific ITT and CPD is critical. The national and regional Science Learning Centres have a key role in delivering this, to which the Trust is fully committed.

Continuity between ITT and CPD 4. ITT and CPD are not isolated processes. It is important for teachers to expect—and schools to facilitate—training throughout the lifetime of a teaching career as standard. Individual teachers also have a responsibility to keep up to date, both with their subject and with new teaching approaches. This is particularly important for STEM teachers who need to keep pace with scientific discoveries, ICT developments, innovative approaches to teaching and developments in curriculum and qualifications. 5. Now that ITT and CPD are both coordinated under the Training and Development Agency, there are signs that continuity of approach to teacher training is improving. An indication of this is the Masters in Teaching and Learning qualification announced by the Schools Secretary in March 2008, and due to be rolled out to all schools in the North West in September 2009. However more is still required to ensure an eVective training continuum. 6. One way to encourage this could be to oVer more formally accredited CPD opportunities after initial qualification (as exemplified in other professions such as medicine, accountancy and law). An example of subject-specific accreditation in the education sector is Chartered Science Teacher status (CSciTeach). This is oVered by the Association of Science Education (ASE), and requires individuals to maintain CPD in order to renew their CSciTeach status every five years. Additionally, the ASE is leading on work with the Science Learning Centres aimed at establishing an accreditation framework for all CPD including “day courses”, higher degrees, and more informal activities that can be demonstrated to provide professional development. This work began in August 2008, and pilot projects are due to commence later this year.

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Entry into the Teaching Profession 7. A healthy supply of high calibre STEM graduates into the teaching profession is essential to provide role models and inspire students at school, and the Trust supports initiatives that aim to encourage this. Examples of such initiatives include Teach First99 which is aimed at graduates from top universities, and Transition to Teaching100 for employees considering a mid to late career change into STEM teaching. This scheme may be particularly relevant given the current economic climate. 8. To attract the right candidates, high quality careers advice is also essential, providing information that demonstrates teaching as one of the challenging and rewarding options presented by STEM education. 9. DiVerent routes into teaching (for example the Post-Graduate Certiﬁcate in Education and Graduate Teacher Programme) are necessary in order to accommodate candidates in a broad range of circumstances, however it is essential that all routes are high quality and held in parity of esteem. An assessment of the strengths of various routes could drive improvement across the board.

Delivery of ITT and the Role of HEIs 10. HEIs do make a distinctive contribution to teacher training, as they have the longest track record in delivering ITT, and a wealth of expertise based on academic principles and theory of learning and teaching. HEIs can also draw on, and provide access to, excellent educational research, which can improve the teaching practice component of ITT (see paragraph 19). The inclusion of an HEI in School-Based Consortia in ITT is therefore generally thought to enhance the training provision available through this route. 11. Teaching practice in schools is central to ITT. However, there is a concern that trainees currently do not have suYcient opportunity to reﬂect on and reﬁne the teaching they undertake in school placements. This is particularly key in science education, where trainees need adequate time to design and test practical experiments and develop skills in this area. 12. Another ITT concern is the shortage of “high quality” school placements for trainees, reported by some HEIs. Under-resourced school laboratories or insuYcient departmental support (amongst other factors) could negatively impact on the outcomes of ITT. Placement quality may be improved in some schools by increased provision of specialised CPD for staV who work with trainees.

Subject-Specific CPD Provision 13. The Trust recognises the importance of professional development generally, and has demonstrated its commitment to STEM-specific CPD to enable STEM teachers to be up-to-date and confident in their subject. 14. The Trust worked in partnership with the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to establish the network of Science Learning Centres, and also commissioned a study in 2005 to find out what teachers think about CPD. The report, entitled Believers, Seekers and Sceptics,101 identified time and money as the most commonly cited barriers to CPD uptake. The Committee may wish to consider whether training budgets in schools are suYciently protected and utilised, given the variety of competing demands on limited school resources. 15. With the barriers in mind, the Wellcome Trust (with DCSF and industry partners) launched Project Enthuse in 2008, which aims to establish a step change in the take-up and attitude towards STEM CPD. Enthuse is a £30 million collaboration which provides bursaries for travel and lesson cover, allowing every STEM teacher to attend a once-in-a-lifetime residential course at the National Science Learning Centre (NSLC). Enthuse also increases interaction between employers and schools, as teachers will be able to nominate at least 50 high potential A-level science students for internships with participating businesses. 16. Enthuse is one of the few examples where industrial partners have had direct involvement with CPD on such a large scale. The Committee may wish to consider further opportunities for enhancing teacher training through industry collaborations, given the increasing links between business and education, for example through the development of Science Diplomas and direct funding of schools. 17. The Trust is pleased to note the Impact Awards, established by DCSF for teachers to attend designated CPD courses in the regional Science Learning Centres. Furthermore tailored CPD can be accessed by devolved administrations, through the NSLC. Other providers and stakeholders, such as local authorities, professional bodies, and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, together with the network of Science Learning Centres have a key role in promoting a wider culture of specialist CPD for teachers and the wider school workforce including technicians.

99 Teach First: http://www.teachﬁrst.org.uk/ 100 Transition to Teaching: http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/adviceandevents/transition to teaching.aspx 101 Wellcome Trust (2006) Believers, seekers and Sceptics: What teachers think about CPD. http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/wmsh peda/documents/web document/wtx028430.pdf Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Improving Quality in Teacher Training 18. Evidence from Ofsted reports indicates that the quality of ITT has improved significantly in the last decade. The introduction of the Qualified Teacher Status standards has helped to describe what is meant by a “quality” teacher. However, the development of such “lists” emphasises the complex nature of teaching. This particularly applies to STEM, where desired teaching outcomes encompass both scientific literacy for all learners and preparing the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, medics and mathematicians. 19. Educational research could help raise the quality of teacher training by providing evidence to support improvements in practice. However this research typically has a much lower impact than it could or indeed should. Whilst doubts have been expressed within the community regarding the robustness of some educational research,102 there remains significant potential to develop mechanisms for uptake and application of rigorous research within ITT and CPD. Examples where this has been achieved successfully (for example—Inside the black box103 by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam in 2001), are comparatively rare. 20. We would be happy to discuss these issues further, and look forward to the outcomes of the inquiry. January 2009

Memorandum submitted by the Association for Science Education The Association for Science Education (ASE)104 welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Children, Schools and Families Committee. ASE has consulted with its members who are drawn from all phases and areas of science education in order to bring together a range of evidence from a variety of perspectives. In particular ASE’s Special Interest groups of the National Advisers and Inspectors Group for Science (NAIGS) and the Association of Tutors in Science Education (ATSE) have contributed to this response. Additionally ATSE have provided their own submission to this inquiry.105

Summary — A sound subject knowledge when teaching secondary science subjects is one of the characteristics of good teachers. However there is a large imbalance in the representation of biology, physics and chemistry specialists across schools. Although there are encouraging recent improvements in recruitment through continued financial incentives from TDA to applicants, recruitment premiums to providers and in-service conversion courses for biology teachers, the longer term trends for numbers of specialist teachers in physics and chemistry are not encouraging. — Although the increased range of diVerent entry and training routes into the teaching profession is welcomed to meet the needs and experience of diVerent student teachers, the most eVective training delivery occurs when school provision is complemented by a substantial HEI component to provide subject based pedagogy and time for critical reflection. — Personal professional development for initial education tutors and of teachers in schools working on pre-service courses remains an area for development. Tutors require more time for scholarly activities of critical reflection and engagement with meaningful research. — The Association for Tutors in Science Education (ATSE) provides support and professional development for science teacher educators and their colleagues in schools. Membership of ATSE should be encouraged to take up the benefits of the TDA funded SciTutors website www.scitutors.org.uk, the electronic Science Teacher Education journal,106 the annual and regional conferences. — Developing sound subject knowledge and associated pedagogy cannot be easily achieved during the usual ITT period. Successful teachers will develop their confidence and expertise during their early teaching years and throughout their teaching career. — Greater eVorts are required to disseminate the benefits of continuing professional development to science teachers, head teachers, senior managers and governors; so engendering a culture shift within the science teaching profession as a whole to engage with professional development. — Incentives to undertake, and be recognised for, relevant professional development activities through accreditation of such activities are to be encouraged. — Professional development is most eVective in promoting eVective classroom practice when teachers are encouraged to reflect on their practice, to interact with colleagues and to carry out related action research. Incentives to encourage such activities are welcomed.

102 National Educational Research Forum (2002) Working Paper 1.1—Building research capacity: Some possible lines of action. 103 Black, Wiliam (2001) Inside the Black Box: Raising standards through classroom assessment. http://ngﬂ.northumberland.gov.uk/keystage3ictstrategy/Assessment/blackbox.pdf 104 Appendix 1 provides a summary of the aims of the Association for Science Education. 105 Appendix 2 ATSE submission to this inquiry into teacher training. 106 Appendix 3 illustrates the cover of Science Teacher Education Nov 2008. [Not printed]. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— A wide range of professional development opportunities are now available to meet the varying needs of the science education community. A mixed delivery combining elements of face to face courses, online courses with mentoring and bespoke events for schools or clusters of schools are particularly eVective and are to be encouraged. — Recent developments through the National CPD Committee to agree national priorities for professional development in science; around improving subject knowledge and supporting curriculum change within secondary science are welcomed. However, a focus on primary science professional development is also important, particularly in this current climate of curriculum change. — Although subject knowledge is not such an issue for primary teachers, some do not have the conﬁdence and experience to develop pupils’ conceptual understanding and may have basic science misconceptions themselves. Subject related professional development for primary teachers is important, particularly at this time of curriculum review and the emerging assessing pupil progress (APP) for primary science.

Entry into the Teaching Profession 1. It is well known that for many young people their subject teacher is the single greatest influence on their positive engagement with a subject at school and in later life. Good science teachers inspire and educate the next generation of young people to take an active, informed role in society where science impacts on every aspect. 2. The characteristics of those most likely to be good teachers are an enthusiasm and solid understanding for one’s subject (or the potential to develop that understanding) and the ability to communicate that knowledge and understanding engagingly to young people. These characteristics are further developed in the ATSE response which is included as an appendix. 3. Although these characteristics are sought after in the selection process of pre-service science courses, they are diYcult to qualify and the non completion rates of students on secondary science courses may reflect this. 4. The wide range of entry courses and incentives into science teaching (and particularly prioritization for the shortage subjects of chemistry and physics) are helpful in encouraging students from a variety of backgrounds to consider the teaching profession. However the diVerent funding regimes between the GTP and PGCE routes, for instance, have an impact on the choice of course and the training received. Emphasis on scholarly, reflective activity for development of subject based pedagogy is to be encouraged whichever entry and training route is undertaken; and this may be most eVectively delivered through a substantial HEI component. 5. A sound subject knowledge when teaching secondary science subjects is one of the characteristics of good teachers. However NFER107 found that there is a large imbalance in the representation of school sciences. In total, 44% of all teachers who taught science had a specialism (ie, holding a degree in the subject or specialising in the subject in initial teacher training) in biology compared with 25% who were chemistry specialists and 19% who were physics specialists. The imbalance in the representation of biology,physics and chemistry specialists was unevenly spread across schools. For example, 26% of 11–16 schools did not have any physics specialists. Although there are encouraging recent improvements in recruitment through continued financial incentives from TDA to applicants, recruitment premiums to providers and in-service conversion courses for biology teachers, the longer term trends for numbers of specialist teachers in physics and chemistry remain a concern.

The Delivery of ITT 6. There is no substitute for direct classroom experience, supported by experienced teaching staV in schools but HEI tutors have a valuable role in contributing to that experience by providing distinctive and specific subject related pedagogy for the diVerent sciences, grounded in educational research which translates well into eVective practice. 7. However, many HEI tutors have overly demanding workloads trying to balance the remit of Ofsted inspections with meaningful research that can be an enriching experience for some tutors, benefits their student teachers and may indirectly contribute to their retention. Hence personal professional development for initial education tutors, and for teachers in schools working on pre-service courses, remains an area for development. 8. The Association for Tutors in Science Education (ATSE) provides support and professional development for science teacher educators and their colleagues in schools. Membership of ATSE should be encouraged to take up the benefits of the TDA funded SciTutors website,108 the electronic Science Teacher Education journal,109 the annual and regional conferences.

107 NFER (2007) Mathematics and science in secondary schools: the deployment of teachers and support staV to deliver the curriculum. 108 SciTutors website www.scitutors.org.uk 109 Appendix 3 Science Teacher Education cover Nov 2008. [Not printed]. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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CPD Provision 9. Developing sound subject knowledge and associated pedagogy cannot be easily achieved during the usual ITT period. From the early years and throughout a career in science teaching, continued professional development has a vital role to play in inspiring teachers—particularly in a fast moving, multi disciplined subject such as science—with up to date subject knowledge and practical enquiry skills around contemporary science and technology, and innovative pedagogical skills arising from the latest educational research.

10. The impact from quality CPD should not be under estimated. Teachers are empowered to facilitate an enriched learning experience for their pupils and they take ownership of their own professional development. Pupils may be better motivated and engaged, and may show improvements in attainment.

11. Many science teachers recognise these beneﬁts and are committed to their own CPD, particularly around developing their subject knowledge. However, others remain to be convinced or are unable to participate due to ﬁnancial and/or timetabling constraints within schools.110

12. Head teachers, senior managers and governors may have a focus on professional development for whole school improvement and are often key to creating a climate for valuing professional development within schools. Hence greater eVorts are required to disseminate the beneﬁts of more subject speciﬁc professional development to these target groups; so engendering a culture shift within the science teaching profession as a whole to engage with professional development.

13. Professional development is most eVective in promoting eVective and lasting classroom practice when teachers are encouraged to reﬂect on their practice, to plan and share experiences with colleagues, to carry out related action research; and to look at the impact on their practice and their pupils’ engagement and attainment.

14. Financial incentives to encourage such activities are welcomed; including the government, Wellcome Trust and industry funded Enthuse and Impact awards through the National Science Learning Centre and regional Science Learning Centres respectively.

15. Other incentives to undertake and be recognised for relevant professional development activities through accreditation are also to be encouraged. Accreditation of CPD gives value and currency to small amounts of CPD undertaken in an academic context: action research at Masters level with a synoptic reﬂective summary showing impact in the classroom which eVectively underpins a teacher’s career whilst beneﬁtting the school and raising the status of the profession in general.

16. The embryonic National Science Learning Centre’s National Accreditation scheme, managed by ASE, will encourage teachers to structure their CPD for progression in their chosen areas and will unite other accreditation schemes such as the TDA’s Masters in Teaching and Learning and the General Teaching Council’s Teaching and Learning Academy. Long term commitment to CPD for those in science education can also be recognised through ASE’s Chartered Science Teacher (CSciTeach) award.111

17. A wide range of professional development opportunities are now available to meet the varying needs of the science education community. A mixed delivery combining elements of face to face courses, online courses with mentoring and bespoke events for schools or clusters of schools are particularly eVective and are to be encouraged. Support for wider adoption of bespoke outreach models is recommended as teachers develop ownership for their professional development and such models help overcome reluctance of schools to release staV and fund supply cover.

18. Recent developments through the National CPD Committee to agree national priorities for professional development in science; around improving subject knowledge and supporting curriculum change within secondary science are welcomed. However, a focus on primary science professional development is also important, particularly in this current climate of curriculum change.

19. Although subject knowledge is not such an issue for primary teachers, some do not have the conﬁdence and experience to develop pupils’ conceptual understanding and may have basic science misconceptions themselves. Subject related professional development for primary teachers is important, particularly at this time of curriculum review and the emerging assessing pupil progress (APP) for primary science. February 2009

110 Believers, seekers and sceptics. Wellcome Trust 2006. 111 Appendix 4 Article describing CSciTeach, Education in Science 2006. [Not printed]. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 The Association for Science Education The Association for Science Education is the largest subject association in the UK, with approximately 18,000 members including teachers, technicians and others involved in science education. The Association plays a signiﬁcant role in promoting excellence in teaching and learning science in schools and colleges. Working closely with the science professional bodies, industry and business, ASE provides a UK-wide network bringing together individuals and organisations to share good ideas, tackle challenges in science teaching, develop resources and foster high quality continuing professional development. The objects and purposes of ASE are stated in its Charter of Incorporation as the promoting of education by the following means. — improving the teaching of science; — providing an authoritative medium through which opinions of teachers of science may be expressed on educational matters; and — aVording a means of communication among all persons and bodies of persons concerned with the teaching of science in particular and education in general. In a more modern context, the Association for Science Education aims to promote excellence in science teaching and learning by: (a) Encouraging participation in science education and increasing both new membership and the retention of existing members. (b) Enhancing professionalism for teachers, technicians and others through provision of high quality continuing professional development and promotion of chartered status. (c) Working in partnership with other organisations, thus maintaining and strengthening its position in inﬂuencing policy and its reputation for delivering cutting edge initiatives for its members and, through them, to the wider science education community. Further details of the ASE and its regional, national and international activities can be found on its website www.ase.org.uk

APPENDIX 2 ASSOCIATION OF TUTORS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION (ATSE) February 2009 Executive Summary — These comments are provided on behalf of the Committee of the Association for Tutors in Science Education (ATSE). This is a special interest group of the Association for Science Education. — Aspirations for the qualities of “good” science teachers have been defined. — Measuring quality is highly complex—however the high-stakes, test-oriented mechanisms are judged to be counterproductive and damaging to the real quality of teaching and pupils’ education. — Any system of central planning will be problematic. There needs to be some flexibility to take into account local conditions. — Part of the function of a training programme is for trainees to aYrm their wish to become teachers. Those who find the life in the classroom unsuitable or impossible should leave—despite the eVect on retention statistics their leaving is a positive outcome. — Teaching must remain an academic profession. — Tutors and mentors require adequate time and support for scholarly activity, reflection and to engage in some meaningful research. — Teachers should be required to continue with professional development—and its nature should be largely their own professional responsibility.

Introduction ATSE is pleased to be given the opportunity to comment on these issues since as an organization it is centrally concerned with supporting tutors in HE whose responsibility is the preparation and development of science teachers. Most of these comments are based upon a “science teaching policy paper” which was developed initially in response in 1993 to the circular 9/92 from which it was feared that many of the aspirational aspects of good science teaching and appropriate professional autonomy might be invisible, buried or even discouraged. This policy document was re-visited, slightly extended and endorsed at the 2006 ATSE Annual Conference. This document agreed on the following main aspects needed to develop future science teachers—many of these are relevant to the questions asked: Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The key resource in science education is the science teacher, who should be encouraged and enabled to develop the following characteristics: — A competent teacher and scientist. — An enthusiastic and sensitive teacher with a continuing interest in the learning of science both for him/herself and the pupils. — A thinking, reflective and autonomous science teacher who is both self-confident and self critical and who can work eVectively as a team member both in the science department and in the school more generally. S/he will be or become aware of the findings of research in science education, critically adapt these in practice and, hopefully, contribute to the research enterprise. — A committed and idealistic, yet realistic, science teacher with beliefs, vision, high personal standards and appropriately high expectations of all pupils. (One purpose of the ITT course is to give opportunity for this commitment to be confirmed or otherwise by the trainee teacher.) —AneVective and creative communicator developing a coherent story of science set within the context of appropriate theoretical, practical and investigational activities.

Measuring Quality There is no simple answer—except to suggest that the current focus on test and examination marks and grades is clearly counter-productive. Such information from national testing can be useful and interesting and no-one would suggest that pupils should not perform to their maximum potential. However, this has become a very high-stakes game—and pressure from “above” on teachers is to maximize pupils’ grades/ scores at any cost. Unfortunately the cost of such a test-oriented curriculum is often boredom and disengagement of both pupils and teachers. Perhaps a more meaningful indicator would be the numbers of pupils choosing to continue with study of the subject beyond the stage at which it is compulsory? However direct comparisons between diVerent contexts would be unlikely to be meaningful. A key issue is that at some point during the schooling process pupils must take responsibility for their own learning. Aspects of good teaching are well established as having a teacher who is him/herself an enthusiastic— and generally successful—learner of the subject and who succeeds in engaging the pupils meaningfully in the learning and understanding of the subject. A wide range of personalities seems to be acceptable provided they are sympathetic to the needs of the pupils, encouraging to their successes and have a sense of humour.

Entry into the teaching profession There seems to be no reason why the current requirements for selecting candidates for teaching should not deliver appropriate trainee teachers. The requirements for face to face interviews and involvement of serving teachers in the process are valued—and help to ensure that candidates lacking in personal or communication skills are rejected. It should be remembered, however, that one purpose of ITT courses is to provide opportunity for trainees to confirm their commitment to teaching and that in many cases “failure” to complete the course of training is a success in terms of the teaching profession and may save the individual from a personal disaster. (Some uses of course statistics both internally in institutions and in inspections seem to assume that any wastage is a bad thing.) Any system of allocating numbers of trainee places is bound to become problematic in practice. The draconian inspection regimes of the late 20th century may well have enhanced consistency and conformity but at the expense of innovation, experimentation and staV morale. The increased emphasis on “doing it by the book” and the consequent bureaucracy surrounding constant inspections also had an enormous cost in terms of the time available for staV to engage with their subject and/or with research or other professional activity. In terms of numbers allocated—usually on so called quality terms—it is the short term variations which have caused immense logistical diYculties for some institutions. For some subjects it has proved diYcult or impossible to recruit to target due to the lack of candidates (In science there were targets given at secondary level for Biology, Chemistry and Physics—few institutions were able to meet the targets in the physical sciences) and the then TTA conflated these to a single science number. This has enabled more to meet their targets but led to the severe under-representation of chemists and physicists in the recently qualified cohorts of science teachers. A further problem of such external allocations is that they do not take into account the local conditions for training provision in local schools—in some areas finding suYcient suitable partnership training places an even more severe constraint than recruiting suYcient trainees! (It has been a cause for concern since 9/92 that Training Institutions are required to be in formal partnership with schools but that there is no reciprocal requirement for schools to be available for partnership in the training enterprise.) This is exacerbated by the “assumption” that the training element in schools is a cost to the school and a relief for the training institution. Whereas in most cases the presence in school of a good trainee can be a substantial benefit to the school—and the additional costs to the training institution of organizing the very complex partnership arrangements seemed hardly to be recognized. In many cases the problems of getting teachers out of school to participate in college have proved extremely diYcult. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The more ﬂexible routes into teaching may provide valuable alternatives for a minority of new teachers, but we believe that teaching is an academic profession and must remain closely associated with the Higher Education community. This is even more important as we aspire to move teaching towards a “masters” profession. One particular element of concern is the plethora of dimensions that have been uncovered and documented in the standards and which seem to render relatively unimportant the teacher’s personal attainment and continued engagement with his/her own subject learning. Particularly at secondary level we would maintain that the teacher’s own development in the subject taught and its teaching should be the priority

The delivery of ITT As stated above developments since 9/92 led to an almost complete loss of innovation and diversity—the introduction to our 2006 policy paper states “The general tone of public statements from the government was at that time rather aggressive and antagonistic and seemed designed to impose (so called) standards and consistency at all costs. This was to the detriment of professional autonomy, creativity and responsibility. Accountability to the imposed “standards” was all that mattered and the developing intensive inspection regime seemed punitive.” More recently there have been moves towards a more cooperative relationship between DfES(now DCSF)/TDA, Teachers and Teacher Educators and we welcome the valuation of more professional, reﬂective and innovative expectations of the new standards. (We are still concerned however about the lack of overt emphasis on the teachers’ continuing engagement with their subject.) Teacher educators in HE devote their energies full-time to the business of developing the next generation of teachers. They usually are members of their professional organisation (ATSE/ASE in the case of science teacher education) and they are in touch with research ﬁndings and actively involved themselves with research. Where teacher education is based entirely within schools, the tutors are, for the most part, classroom teachers, and they lack access to the professional network of science teacher educators and research. If science teacher education is to continue to be undertaken, in part, in school-based schemes, these need to be funded far more generously, to allow the tutor-teachers to have time available to integrate into the academic network. The TDA have funded an excellent resource in the form of the sci-tutors’ website (www.scitutors.org.uk) but school-based colleagues have little time and enthusiasm to make use of this resource.

CPD Provision CPD opportunities are widely available and reasonably accessible—what follows is a short list of attributes which we consider should be found in any significant or substantial CPD undertaken (excluded from this consideration would be inter-Departmental or Whole-staV training events): 1. The prime beneficiary of the CPD must be the teacher. CPD undertaken on behalf of the “wider school or subject-community” can, of course be negotiated, but the individual must be committed to the “project”. (CPD is undertaken by teachers not done to them.) 1. CPD should be educational and it should be legitimate for teachers to develop their own identified subject and or professional enthusiasms or identified needs. 2. CPD should where possible connect with current and future personal and professional interests and aspirations for the individual. 3. Accreditation may be appropriate but should not be mandatory. 4. This should remain an area for personal responsibility and professional trust. 5. It must be recognised that CPD requires quality time—and that this can easily lost within the over- bureaucratic educational world that we now inhabit.

Memorandum submitted by Professor Robin Alexander, Director of the Cambridge Primary Review Teaching, teacher training and development are within the remit of the Cambridge Primary Review, an independent enquiry into the condition and future of English primary education, and the most comprehensive such review for over 40 years. The Review is currently at work on its final report, whose publication will come too late for the Committee’s own inquiry. However, in advance of our final report we wish briefly to flag up some of the key issues. Two of the Review’s reports are referred to below. These are attached, and we would like the McNamara, Brundrett and Webb report to serve as part of our evidence.112

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Expertise, development and training There is now a substantial body of research available on the nature of professional knowledge and expertise for teaching, and on the various stages of professional development from novice to expert.113 Teachers at diVerent stages of development draw on diVerent kinds of expertise, expanding their repertoire as they achieve conﬁdence and competence, until the best of them achieve the adaptability needed to meet any circumstance and the autonomy to make the independent judgements which the uniqueness of circumstance demands. The James Report of 1972 established the need for a coherent cycle of training and development from initial training through induction to CPD, and this is now reﬂected in policy and the work of TDA. However, it is essential that the Committee probe how far each phase of training genuinely matches the teacher’s stage of development.

One size does not fit all At the same time, and complicating the above, each teacher is diVerent and, crucially, experience does not necessarily equate with excellence or even competence. The progress from novice through proficient to expert and even outstanding practitioner is variable, and some never get to the final stage by the time they retire. This means that while initial training must ensure that all NQTs reach at least the minimum level of competence to take charge of a class in their first year of teaching, the training, support and development they receive thereafter need, as far as this is practicable, to be individually tailored. In particular, we would suggest that the Committee might ask providers about the assumptions they make about teachers’ development and needs when planning CPD, bearing in mind a concern expressed in evidence to the Cambridge Primary Review that much non-award bearing CPD is pitched too low, and that many experienced teachers in particular feel patronised by what is on oVer, or suspect that they know at least as much about the issues in question as the trainers. (See also “Who are the trainers?” below).

Role, expertise and training The expertise for teaching is both generic and role-specific. Primary and secondary teachers have much in common, but in three respects their tasks are fundamentally diVerent. First, in relation to the pupils taught: children in their early years and mid-adolescence have diVerent needs and behave in diVerent ways. Second, in relation to the curriculum: most secondary teachers are subject specialists while most primary teachers are generalists, teaching most or all of the curriculum to just one class. Third, secondary teachers characteristically move between classes, and in a given day or week find themselves teaching their subjects to children of any age from 11 to 18, and this calls for considerable flexibility.The primary teacher stays with, and builds a relationship with, just one class. Again, the Committee may wish to probe the match of training to primary generalist and secondary specialist roles as thus somewhat oversimplified.

The primary generalist: the perennial mismatch between curriculum task and training An outsider might expect initial training to bring the trainee to the necessary level of competence in all subjects to be taught. For primary teachers this does not happen. In the history of initial teacher training it rarely has. The reason cited is that there is insuYcient time to do other than equip teachers to teach “the basics”. As we pointed out in our report Towards a New Primary Curriculum114 (submitted to the Committee’s earlier inquiry on the National Curriculum), this eVectively ensures that those subjects which are deemed to be of lower priority—arts, music, history, geography and other subjects currently outside the National Curriculum core—are likely to be taught less well, or at least on the basis of a much more limited range of appropriate professional knowledge. It also ensures that their low status will be sustained, for what one knows little about one is unlikely to value. In our proposals on the primary curriculum we argue that a minimum concept of statutory curriculum entitlement must include children’s right to a range of subjects which are taught well regardless of the time allocated to them. As it is, many children suVer the double whammy of a curriculum where the arts and humanities are not only regarded as dispensable, notwithstanding the legal position, but may not always be taught with the necessary expertise. This is quite wrong, the more so because for years providers, training agencies and Ofsted have known it to be so but have done little about it. Indeed, the non-core subjects are neglected in both TDA requirements and Ofsted ITT inspections—which makes Ofsted’s recent ﬁndings on the poor stage of primary music teaching somewhat ironic.

113 See footnotes 5–8. 114 Alexander, R J and Flutter, J (2009) Towards a New Primary Curriculum: a report from the Cambridge Primary Review, Part 1—Past and Present; Alexander, R.J. (2009) Towards a New Primary Curriculum: a report from the Cambridge Primary Review, Part 2—The Future, Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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We would urge the Committee to investigate this matter. Children have a legal entitlement to a broad and balanced primary curriculum. As we argue in our curriculum report, that entitlement surely encompasses the quality of teaching as well as the number of subjects taught. The Committee will almost certainly be told that the pressure of other TDA requirements does not permit providers to do justice to the non-core subjects in the limited time available, particularly on the one-year PGCE route. If the Committee is convinced that the problem is logistically insuperable, then it needs to consider two alternative solutions: — lengthening the course (a two-year PGCE was proposed by UCET during the 1980s, but idea was not pursued); — encouraging diVerent patterns of staV deployment, with training to match, in primary schools. The latter falls outside the remit of the Committee’s present inquiry, but it is within the remit of the Cambridge Primary Review, and we give notice that we shall have more to say on the matter in our ﬁnal report.

The changing face of pedagogy During the past 20 years research on learning and teaching have advanced considerably. At the same time, after a century of taking a narrowly pragmatic approach to classroom expertise Britain has begun to enter the continental mainstream in which pedagogy—the art, science and craft of teaching, and the knowledge which informs it—is more broadly conceived. Understanding of children’s development, cognition and learning has advanced thanks to recent work in cognitive psychology, neuroscience and socio-cultural research. Three decades of observational research in classrooms have yielded reliable insights into the constituents of eVective teaching. We now have a clearer view of what the teacher needs to know in order to act with competence and ﬂexibility. It is much less clear how far this revolution has penetrated ITT and CPD provision. These at present are largely steered by the requirements of the Government’s National Strategies, which themselves have a patchy and indeed selective record when it comes to pedagogical research. Further, providers themselves vary in their awareness of this research and in their understanding of its professional implications. We hope that the Committee will probe this issue, too, when it meets representatives of the National Strategies, TDA, UCET, NCSL, local authorities and providing institutions.

Who are the trainers? This takes directly us to our next point. In their research survey commissioned for the Cambridge Primary Review, McNamara, Brundrett and Webb reported that most (primary) teachers are trained in institutions (including university departments of education) which are not research-active to any significant degree, and they expressed concern about “a growing dislocation between teacher education and research.”115 In some research-active departments there may be a diVerent problem: a tendency for the most notable researchers to disengage from initial teacher training in order to concentrate on research and doctoral supervision, leaving ITT to those colleagues with least experience or to local teachers and advisers who are “bought in” with research funds. In such cases, trainees may remain as remote from research, and from a clear and accurate understanding of its implications for teaching, as those in institutions without significant research activity. This situation inevitably raises questions about how far teaching can become, as most wish it to be, a genuinely research-based profession in the way that medicine is. There is another issue. Teaching in schools and training others to teach in schools are fundamentally diVerent activities. They overlap in focus, but they demand diVerent kinds of knowledge and skill. Yet trainers themselves do not undergo training. Most have taught in schools, some of them to a senior position. Most have first degrees, a large proportion have higher degrees, and in the research-active institutions doctorates are the norm. These paragraphs merely touch the surface of a complex and sensitive line of enquiry. For the Committee, however, they suggest two fairly fundamental questions: — In the providing institutions, what is the relationship, between ITT, CPD and research? — Who —whether in higher education institutions, local authorities or elsewhere—are the trainers, and what is the nature of their claim to expertise as trainers of teachers?

Teachers as professionals: compliance, dependence and autonomy It is clear from the evidence to the Cambridge Primary Review that since 1997 teachers have increasingly operated in a culture where they are expected to comply with externally-imposed requirements. These now include, following the introduction of the national strategies in 1998–09, the ﬁne detail of teaching itself (under previous administrations the line taken was always—to quote a previous Secretary of State—that

115 McNamara, O, Brundrett, M and Webb, R (2008) Primary Teachers: initial teacher education, continuing professional development and school leadership development (Cambridge Primary Review Research Survey 6/3), Cambridge: University of Cambridge Faculty of Education. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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“questions about how to teach are not for Government to determine”116). More than that, these requirements—national curriculum, national strategies, national assessment and so on—embody assumptions and claims about education, learning and teaching which teachers are expected to accept without question but which need to be tested. Our evidence revealed a division between those teachers who welcomed the support provided by the national agencies and their local authority counterparts, and those who resented being told what to do and how to think and deplored both the compliance culture and the dependence on others for ideas that it fostered. To some extent this split was age-related: younger teachers, by and large, were more likely than their more experienced colleagues to value and rely on the national strategies and to be happy to download ready-made lessons and materials from DCSF and other websites. This takes us back to the matter of professional expertise and development with which we started. Dreyfus and Dreyfus propose five stages in teacher development: “novice”, “advanced beginner”, “competent”, “proficient” and “expert”.117 Berliner prefers to collapse the last two categories on the grounds that in teaching it is hard to discriminate proficiency from expertise.118 Glaser identifies three cognitive stages generalisable across a wide range of professional activities: “externally supported”, “transitional” and “self- regulatory.”119 Glaser’s model pinpoints the essence: the transition from dependence to autonomy. Exceptional teaching, or exceptional performance in any sphere, lies beyond expertise and adds a high degree of artistry, flexibility and originality whose precise features may be hard to pin down as measurable indicators; but we certainly know it when we see it. Bond et al, after a validation exercise endorsed by Berliner, summarise 13 “prototypic characteristics” of expert teachers in areas such as subject knowledge, problem-solving, improvisation, classroom climate, task challenge, sensitivity to context, monitoring, feedback, respect for students and ability to “read” the cues they provide.120 We presume that the Committee is concerned not just with the mechanics of teacher training but also with the kinds of teacher it produces. That being so, if teachers now operate within a system which may discourage or even prevent many of them from progressing beyond the stage of “external support” or dependence to “self-regulation” or autonomy, and if there are experienced teachers who are content not to move beyond the first stage, then that should give the Committee cause for considerable concern. It could be argued that if initial training secures genuine novice competence for all NQTs then it has achieved what it should. But if ITT has not also sown the seeds of critical engagement with ideas, research and policy on teaching and the capacity to move to and beyond the next developmental stage, and if CPD or school culture are predicated on mere dependence and compliance, then the profession as a whole cannot advance.

“The best teachers ever”? The often-repeated claim from Ofsted, TDA and DCSF (and indeed the Secretary of State), that England now has “the best teachers ever”121 should be seen in light. The measure of “best ever” is Ofsted NQT inspections. “Best” means in relation to NQT standards, that is to say to standards for novice rather than expert or outstanding teachers. “Ever” means since Ofsted started using their current inspection methodology, which is a few years at most.122 So “the best teachers ever” is a ludicrous claim, for it is empirically unsustainable, and obviously so. If the claim were reduced to “the best trained NQTs since 2000” (or whatever recent date the Ofsted methodology allows) that would be more plausible. But it would also leave open the questions of how NQT competence is defined and what has happened to the rest of the teaching profession. Confined to NQTs, “best” may mean no more than “conforming to what is required of them by the national agencies.” We would prefer “best” to encompass the flair and independence at the top end of the continuum in the American research cited above. Without it, novice and competent teachers have nothing to emulate beyond what they themselves can do. February 2009

116 Secretary of State Kenneth Clarke, in his launch of the “three wise men” enquiry on primary teaching: Alexander, R J, Rose, J and Woodhead, C (1992) Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools, London: DES, para 1. 117 Dreyfus, H L and Dreyfus, E (1986) Mind Over Machine, New York: Free Press. 118 Berliner, D C (1994) “Expertise: the wonder of exemplary performance, in J.M.Mangieri and C.C.Block (eds) Creating Powerful Thinking in Teachers and Students, pp 141–86, Fort Worth TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 119 Glaser, R (1996) “Changing the agency for learning: acquiring expert performance” in K.A.Ericsson (ed) The Road to Excellence: the acquisition of expert performance, pp 303–11, Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. 120 Bond, L, Smith, T, Baker, W K and Hattie, J A (2000) The Certification System for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards: a construct and consequential validity study, Greensborough: University of Greensborough. 121 Ed Balls, “Why Britain has the best teachers ever”, The Guardian, 23 October 2007. 122 Michael Day of TDA, quoted in The Guardian on 16 May 2006: “Ofsted has found that today’s newly qualified teachers are the best trained ever, and there are rigorous inspection procedures in place to ensure that the award of qualified teacher status only goes to those who have met the required standards.” Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Memorandum submitted by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) 1. Introduction 1.1 The role of teacher training in providing the school workforce with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary to deliver the curriculum to its full potential is crucial. The current secondary curriculum design framework allows teachers to use their professional skills, creativity and specialisms to develop learning experiences that stimulate and appropriately challenge pupils and allow them to progress. QCA’s support for the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum (IRPC) is intended to achieve a similar outcome. 1.2 The education sector is experiencing significant change in the areas of curriculum, qualifications and assessment, therefore requires a high quality of training to adapt to and learn from new ways of working. QCA continues to support the ITE and CPD sector with the timely evidence, advice and guidance on current education policy it needs to develop and deliver successful training and development. 1.3 QCA believes strongly that the only eVective curriculum is one that is co-developed with stakeholders. In order to do this QCA has a programme of consultation not only with teachers and other education professionals, but also with the wider workforce. 1.4 QCA believes that close collaboration across all sectors of the teaching profession is the best way to develop a curriculum that supports innovation, personalisation and meets the nation’s needs in the 21st Century.

2. Evidence and Collaboration 2.1 QCA has a remit to build the evidence base for a future world-class curriculum. There are considerable areas of overlap between the evidence we gather regarding trends in curriculum development and implementation issues pertinent to skilling the school workforce. QCA operates a Curriculum Evidence Advisory Panel (CEAP) to coordinate our evidence gathering processes and identify areas for partnership working. The panel contains representatives from GTC(E), TDA, NCSL and SSAT among others, which allows data to be used across the agencies to support research activities associated with policymaking. The panel will explore opportunities to develop closer data sharing partnerships with ITT/CPD providers for mutual benefit. 2.2 QCA has recently agreed a protocol with TDA on ways of working together and areas for collaboration with the ambition of ensuring a coherent approach to supporting the reform agenda and achieving better outcomes for children. We recognise that our organisations have closely aligned responsibilities, for the development of a world class curriculum and for the professional development of the school workforce who will deliver it. As such, the QCA-TDA Memorandum of Understanding will assist us in achieving coherence for schools and ensuring that our programmes of development for all those working as part of the school team are responsive to the changes being introduced to the National Curriculum and to qualifications. 2.3 With regard to the TDA’s Professional Standards for Teachers, we welcome the prominence given to curriculum and subject knowledge, but would welcome a more explicit reference to curriculum development, particularly to cross-curriculum planning. The new Secondary Curriculum exists as a design framework, containing suYcient flexibility for teachers to be able to interpret and personalise the school curriculum to the needs of their pupils. In order for teachers to maximise the opportunities oVered by the new programmes of study, they must be equipped with the skills and confidence needed for eVective curriculum development. 2.4 There are currently no additional standards at Advanced Teacher Level regarding curriculum development or planning. We would expect Advanced Skills Teachers to have an integral role in curriculum leadership across the school, as well as encouraging and developing all staV levels to engage creatively with school curriculum design. 2.5 In September 2008, QCA commissioned our research partners CUREE to investigate what good CPD needs in order to support teachers undertaking curriculum development. The research established that when teachers engage in curriculum development work in ways that are properly planned, resourced and supported, the development work they do can itself be an important and eVective form of CPD. By structuring curriculum development for learning and/or by using curriculum development as a vehicle or site for CPD, school leaders create opportunities that do double duty,thus increasing eYciency and eVectiveness. Organising CPD and curriculum development this way can also make professional learning and practice development around the curriculum feel like an intrinsic part of the teacher’s “day job” rather than an additional burden. 2.6 Furthermore, when curriculum development work is undertaken by teachers in groups, the range and diversity of professional perspectives increases, enriching both the learning experience and the quality of the outcomes beyond what one teacher, however expert, could achieve on their own. For example, QCA’s curriculum networks bring together one or more representatives from a cluster of schools to create new opportunities for curriculum co-development and for collective professional learning. 2.7 The research shows that CPD can eVectively support teachers in undertaking curriculum development, and therefore results in learning gains for teachers and for their pupils. This form of CPD involves: Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— peer support to encourage, extend and structure professional learning, dialogue and experimentation; — specialist support, including modelling, workshops, observation, feedback, coaching, and introducing a menu of research-based strategies for enhancing learning — planned meetings for structured discussion—including exploring evidence from teachers’ classrooms about their experiments with the new approaches and of their beliefs about teaching, the subjects being explored and their learners — processes for sustaining the CPD over time to enable teachers to embed the practices in their own classroom settings—including informal day-to-day discussions and observations between teachers, and using work they would have to do anyway (such as lesson planning and designing schemes of work or curriculum development) in workshops — recognition and analysis of teachers’ individual starting points and building on what they know and can do already — developing teachers’ ownership of their learning, by oVering them scope to identify or refine their own learning focus (within a menu set by the programme or the school), and to take on a degree of leadership in their CPD, and — a focus on pupil learning and pupil outcomes, often explicitly as a way to analyse starting points, structure development discussions and evaluate progress, both formatively and summatively. 2.8 Curriculum network activities and action research opportunities oVered by QCA could have a positive impact with trainees and NQTs. Early engagement with ITT students regarding research-informed curriculum innovation oVers potential long term benefits for the workforce. QCA intends to continue to explore the links between ITT, CPD and eVective curriculum development and reform. 2.9 The evidence we receive from teachers in the classroom has a direct impact on the policy advice we develop. The concept of teacher as researcher can be an important mechanism for the way we review and develop the national curriculum. QCA is a member on the TDA’s Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) Board, and provides regular support to the MTL working groups. We fully support the MTL initiative and recognise the need for teachers to embed advanced skills in research and evaluation as part of their professional development. In addition, evidence gathered from the wider workforce is important. QCA is a member of TDA’s National Advisory Group on the training of the children’s workforce and helps to shape a strategic approach to initial and continuing professional development. We anticipate that initiatives of this type will have a positive impact on the way QCA integrates action research in to our curriculum monitoring processes. 2.10 To support the process of developing the profession, QCA have recently produced a DVD film entitled “teachers as learners”, which shows how ITT trainees can be agents of curriculum change in schools. QCA has actively engaged with the ITT community to encourage the discussion of curriculum development and innovation issues amongst their student cohort and partner schools. We have also encouraged reform within ITT programmes and curricula. We have found that during our engagement with the ITT sector, the concepts contained within QCA’s Big Picture of the Curriculum have been particularly well received. 2.11 QCA provides funding and operates the International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks Archive (INCA), which is supported and managed by National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). This resource contains detailed descriptions of government policy on education in 20 countries worldwide. The TDA also fund a section of the archive focussing upon initial teacher training frameworks for pre-school, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education in schools (3–19 age range). In 2008, TDA commissioned two thematic probes looking at wider workforce issues (including CPD issues) as well as recruitment and retention issues for schools in challenging circumstances. These probes are due for publication in 2009, and will provide a much needed international perspective to the issues. 2.12 QCA, as UK ReferNet Coordinator has strong partnerships with the UK representative of the TTNet network. The Training of Trainers Network, TTNet is a network of national networks set up by CEDEFOP in 1998 as a Pan-European forum for key players and decision-makers in the training and professional development of vocational teachers and trainers. QCA, through ReferNet, are responsible for providing regular briefing material to CEDEFOP regarding the latest developments and innovative practice in VET teacher training across the UK. 2.13 QCA is a project partner in an EU Commission report Cross-curricula key competences, which is due for publication by the Commission in summer 2009. The report will look to identify the competences required by teachers to deliver quality teaching and learning of key skills across the curriculum. 2.14 QCA will continue to gather and utilise international evidence concerning teacher training issues with utmost importance to support the development and implementation of a world class curriculum for the 21st Century. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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3. Innovation,Personalisation and Every Child Matters 3.1 The success of new curriculum design, novel assessment strategies and new qualifications is dependent on the ability of the workforce to innovate, personalise and adapt to new ways of working. Similarly, the way that education policy translates into eVective outcomes in schools and colleges requires a workforce eager to learn and take risks where appropriate. QCA provides information, advice and guidance for teachers, local authorities and other key stakeholders to support change and exemplify eVective practice. 3.2 The success of the Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategy, for example, is wholly dependent on eVective teacher training. The QCA has worked with the National Strategies and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) as partners in the AfL strategy, which states that “every teacher is equipped to make eVective judgements about learners’ attainment and how to plan to improve it” and that “every school has systems for making regular, useful and accurate assessments”. With this in mind, we welcome the Department for Children, Schools and Families investment of £150 million over three years (2008–11) to support CPD for teachers in AfL. We are confident that AfL is a powerful way to raise pupils’ achievement. 3.3 QCA has begun to pilot a range of new Assessing Pupils Progress (APP) materials for schools, in collaboration with teachers. These are now being launched nationally across key stage 3 subjects. As more and more schools introduce APP,new structures are being proposed and considered to ensure that standards are kept consistent throughout the country. Many schools and teachers are already developing new knowledge and skills to use the APP tools eVectively and are demonstrating the new opportunities available to develop more eVective assessment practice. 3.4 We would like to move from a position where ITT and CPD providers are able to preview changes in curriculum, qualifications and assessment, rather than respond to it. To realise this vision, we would like to see a greater co-operation between providers and policy organisations in the development and implementation processes. We would urge both policy agencies and training providers to develop a future- looking approach to ensure that their teaching programmes and policy initiatives retain a dynamic link with curriculum innovation. To help realise this, QCA is currently planning to discuss secondary implementation with ITT and CPD providers throughout 2009. 3.5 For the purposes of quality assurance, QCA would like to re-emphasise the importance of inspection and regulatory frameworks in ensuring that providers and training programmes consider the latest curriculum policy and remain up to date with curriculum developments. QCA will explore this further in our work with providers and system leader organisations. 3.6 From our work with schools, we have identified that there is further scope for development in the way that schools embed the Every Child Matters outcomes across the curriculum. Whilst many schools are developing good practice in the practical areas of the policy, there remains uncertainty about how the outcomes articulate with the curriculum. QCA will be working closely with providers of ITT and CPD in the coming year to explore this issue further.

4. Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum 4.1 A move towards a more ﬂexible curriculum, coupled with a new design framework will create important challenges for the workforce, but will create more opportunities for teachers to use their professional skills and judgments. In the early stages of the Independent Review of the Primary Curriculum, QCA held a colloquium event with several high quality providers of primary ITT, their students and NQTs, resulting in a clear harmonisation of themes and interests. Work towards creating a portrait of an eVective teacher of a new curriculum was initiated and will continue through QCA’s ongoing engagement with providers. 4.2 The QCA 0–14 Advisory Group which is serviced by QCA to support Sir Jim Rose and the IRPC includes membership from one major high quality ITT provider and from the TDA. We have found this mechanism for collaboration particularly useful. 4.3 In addition to our ongoing liaison with the GTC(E) on their Teaching and Learning Academy (TLA) initiative, QCA held a joint conference in December with members of the GTC(E) network entitled “Future of the Primary Curriculum”. The feedback gathered at this event has informed QCA’s evidence to Sir Jim Rose. QCA continues to work collaboratively with GTC(E) and several ITT providers to develop events, ﬁlms and material designed to strengthen providers’ understanding of, and commitment to the new curriculum. This work will particularly focus on subject knowledge, the implications of the Children’s Plan for the development of the children’s workforce as a whole.

5. Conclusion 5.1 The importance of high quality ITE and CPD to the successful implementation of a new curriculum and to the delivery of new qualiﬁcations cannot be understated. The nation requires a workforce capable of contributing to the eVective development and implementation of education policy. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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5.2 We are committed to continue developing positive relationships with providers and allied system leaders to ensure that innovation and reforms are inﬂuenced by, and communicated to the wider workforce. 5.3 QCA, and our successor body, QCDA, is committed to work with our strategic partners to support the development of a 21st Century workforce capable of leading change and creating curriculum opportunities that maximise impact on young learners. February 2009

Memorandum submitted by Dr Rita Egan I am writing in a personal capacity to highlight the issues I have confronted as a disabled teacher, university lecturer and Chair of Education, in this country and abroad. Whilst there has been considerable attention in the past three decades to improving access for disabled students, and the training of teachers to work with students with special needs, little work has been undertaken to identify the needs of teachers with special needs or those who wish to work in the teaching profession. In fact, it is virtually impossible to find any evidence based research on this topic. The TDA has provided guidelines which cover some of the issues which I believe need to be addressed but do not provide supporting evidence that their advice has been followed. The issues which I believe need to be addressed are as follows: 1. Is the teaching profession fully inclusive when it comes to recruitment and training of teachers with special needs? 2. Are schools accessible to teachers and students with special needs wishing to train as teachers? 3. Are schools fully inclusive in relation to the hiring, accommodation and retention of teachers with special needs? 4. Are colleges and universities accessible to students wishing to train as teachers? I will address each of these issues in turn. 1. (a) Although there is technically no barrier to applicants with special needs applying to become a teacher, it is likely that many potential students would be deterred from doing so because there is no explicit statement that special needs applicants are encouraged to apply. In fact, the statement on the Training and Development Agency site would have the eVect, I believe, of deterring potential disabled teachers from applying. http://209.85.229.132/search?q%cache:7nnVeiGqIbEJ:www.tda.gov.uk/partners/recruiting/ disability.aspx!tda!disability&cd%1&hl%en&ct%clnk&gl%uk. and http://www.tda.gov.uk/ upload/resources/pdf/a/able to teach.pdf (b) None of the promotional literature put out by the Training and Development Agency for Schools shows images of a physically disabled teacher and students in schools so rarely see a disabled teacher, it would be easy for them to assume that disabled people don’t teach. 2. (a) As far as physical disability is concerned, a very large number of schools in England and Wales are inaccessible for the physically disabled. There are no figures that I can find that quantify the problem as there appears to have be no audit undertaken to show which schools are accessible and which are not. (b) The Better Schools for the Future project claims to address the issue of accessibility, but having visited a number of new builds, I am still not confident that architects and school design consultants understand the needs of teachers with special needs. For example, at the end of 2008 I visited a newly constructed academy to observe one of my students teach. Almost all of the ICT rooms in this new build were inaccessible as they consisted of rows of computer stations facing the wall (not the front of the classrooms) in gradated steps. (picture of an ICT room not published) How a physically disabled teacher in a wheelchair is supposed to mount these steps to work with students is a mystery. There were two ICT rooms which were accessible in the school, but surely all classrooms should be accessible to all teachers? Other new builds have diVerent problems. Another academy I visited had doors which were diYcult to manoeuvre in and out of, and it was impossible to get around the rooms to work with students. The rooms were relatively small and there was very little room between the desks. The problem of overcrowded classrooms is one of the most common barriers for teachers with physical disabilities. This school had a gallery design, as well and it was so narrow that it was very diYcult for me to negotiate between classrooms if there were any people coming from the opposite direction. Clearly, there needs to be more consultation with disabled teachers before new schools are built. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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(c) We find it very diYcult to place trainees for field experiences who are physically disabled and use a wheelchair as so few of the schools in our area are able to accommodate them. We have no audit to consult, just our personal knowledge of the school environment. When I travel around to visit my students in schools, they sometimes have to be moved to a ground floor ICT room because the classroom they are using is up a flight of stairs and there is no lift. (d) As far as other disabilities are concerned, we have also had trainees with Dyslexia. I find that the schools and the university are able to accommodate these trainees needs, but I do sense nervousness when a school discovers they are working with such a student. It seems that schools are fully appreciative of the need to accommodate their own students, but accommodating teachers or trainee teachers is another matter entirely. Sometimes I feel that schools are willing to accommodate a disabled teacher trainee, but they are nervous about hiring one because of the cost implications. I have only anecdotal evidence to support this claim as no studies have been undertaken to collect hard data. 3. (a) Although I have been hired as a disabled teacher and arrived at my last school in a four wheeled mobility walker, I really don’t think the school appreciated my special needs. I completed the necessary forms provided by the local authority and clearly stated my disability. I arrived to work in the school with my small Class 2 scooter, as I could not have used the walker for my daily work. I know that the school was surprised—but no-one sat down with me to discuss what accommodations might be appropriate for me. Over a two year period I experienced a great deal of diYculty at the school but I am not free to discuss the details for legal reasons. (b) What I can tell you is that, at some point, fortuitously, as it turned out, I contacted the local Jobs Plus centre to try and determine what my employment rights were. The oYcer looking after disabled clients was extremely helpful and put me in touch with the Access to Work oYce in my region. They, again, could not have been more sensitive or helpful. They undertook a thorough assessment of my work environment and provided the school with an extensive report of what needed to be done to accommodate my disability. My employment with that school ended shortly after. I think the Access to Work agency is providing a critical service for teachers with disabilities, but I would rather that they did not have to exist. If schools could be made more aware of their obligations under the DDA and followed through on these, the Access to Work agency would not have to intervene as often as it does. (c) I know from discussions with the GTC and teacher unions that the number of disabled teachers is believed to be underreported (.02%) as there is substantial anecdotal evidence that applicants for teaching position are reluctant to identify their special need for fear of discrimination. (d) I have not experienced any discrimination towards students wanting to enter the teaching profession. I interview potential trainees and when we oVer a trainee a place, the university has an excellent support system for that student. Neither have I experienced any discrimination towards myself as a university lecturer. Again, the three universities that I have worked for in the UK have done everything they can to accommodate my needs. It would appear, therefore, that the problem lies with the schools, not with the universities or training institutions.

Recommendations: 1. Research should be undertaken to establish the following: (a) The current state of accessibility of schools in the UK. (b) An assessment of the accessibility within newly built schools. (c) The experiences of qualiﬁed disabled people seeking to become teachers. (d) The experience of qualiﬁed applicants looking for a teaching post. (e) The experiences of disabled teachers working in a school environment. 2. The TDA should reframe its policies and procedures in relation to the recruitment of disabled applicants so that they are more inclusive. 3. School Administrators should receive more training in how to recruit, accommodate and retain teaching applicants with special needs. 4. There should be more awareness of the needs of disabled teachers within the educational sector generally. March 2009 Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Memorandum submitted by the NuYeld Review Qualifications of the Teaching Workforce Teaching in schools and teaching in further education have at present to be considered separately where we speak of the recruitment, training and qualiﬁcations of teachers, despite the increasing interdependence of both sectors in the progression of learners from 14 to 19.

Schools The main route into secondary school teaching is that of the Post-Graduate Teachers’ Certificate (PGCE), a one-year course for graduates, in which the trainee teachers normally prepare for teaching a subject closely connected with their first degree. A second route is through an extended undergraduate course in which there is an integration of subject specialism, educational theory and professional practice. The B.Ed degree has, in the main, acceded to a Bachelor of Arts or Science with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). A third, more recently established route, is employment-based, as in the Graduate Teacher Programme or in Teach First in England. Here the trainees join a school from the very start, where they are trained by the staV within the school, albeit usually monitored and helped by a University Department of Education. For this purpose, in England, there have been designated “training schools” which receive up to £90,000 per year for this purpose. Obtaining QTS by one of these routes is essential for qualification as a teacher. The body responsible for overseeing the standards that these diVerent routes have to meet, and for funding the providers, is the Teacher Development Agency in England. In Wales, the Assembly Government is responsible for QTS standards and also for the standards for accredited Initial Teacher Education and Training (ITET), though the providers of ITET are accredited by the Higher Education Council for Wales. Ofsted in England and Estyn in Wales inspect the quality of training. In both England and Wales, under work-load agreements, ancillary staV have been appointed to do many of the tasks which took teachers away from the central task of teaching. 25 such tasks were identified (eg photocopying). In addition, there has been the creation of Teaching Assistants (TAs) to assist in the teaching but under the supervision of a qualified teacher. An important extension of this innovation in 2003, in England as part of the National Agreement and also in Wales, was the new career path for TAs as they could be promoted to Higher Level Teaching Assistants (HLTA). Nearly 20,000 support staV have attained HLTA status. Research by NFER has shown what a significant diVerence TAs and HLTAs can make to the quality of learning (Wilson, 1997). All this is particularly relevant to 14–19 since it could be a route through which skilled and experienced workers can bring their expertise into schools as these develop the more skills-based and occupation-related courses. But it should be emphasised that that was not the reason for such teacher support, and there has always been the appointment of “instructors” (eg the expert in horticulture) to bring in the necessary expertise for practical courses. But these instructors would not be qualified teachers, would be paid at a lower rate and would not have a career path laid out before them. The question then is: how can these diVerent workers in the school (TAs, HLTAs and instructors) contribute to the changing 14–19 curriculum framework, and, where desirable from their point of view and that of the school, advance towards qualified teacher status?

Further education By contrast, until recently, no training or qualification was required for teaching in a college of further education. However, an Ofsted Report (2003) criticised the lack of training in England for many in FE and the poor quality of the courses which were available for those who wanted them. A Government White Paper proposed regulations to support the development of a fully qualified professional workforce in the FE system (DfES, 2006a). Since September 2007, therefore, a new professional status, together with qualifications, has been introduced not only for further education colleges but also for private training providers if these are funded by the Learning and Skills Council. The body equivalent to the TDA for schools in the development of the framework for teachers in FE is the LLUK—Lifelong Learning UK. There is a four-tier qualification system instead of the one QTS for schools: PTLLS (Preparing to Teach in the Life Long Sector Award), giving a minimum threshold to teach; DTLLS (Diploma in Teaching in the Life Long Teaching Sector); ATLS (Associate Teacher Learning and Skills), licensed to take on a limited range of responsibilities; and QTLS (Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills), licensed to take on full responsibilities of a teacher. For example, the decorator, contributing practical expertise on a vocational course, would not have all the responsibilities for planning and designing the course, and would require only ATLS, to be obtained whilst employed, though having first obtained the PTLLS. All who gain these qualifications have to register with the Institute for Learning (IFL)—the equivalent to the General Teaching Council for school teachers. These qualifications are aligned to the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF). The training for these qualifications is essentially “on the job”. But it is a requirement for all those who attain QTLS to undertake 30 hours per year of professional development if they are to retain the licence to teach. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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This important development has not been followed in Wales where it is not a requirement to have a teacher qualiﬁcation or to undergo continuing professional development in order to teach in further education, a matter which could be of some concern as the future of 14–19 requires greater collaboration between schools and colleges. Under the “Transforming Education Programme”, there will be enforced collaboration but diVerent standards and entitlement for teachers and lecturers.

School and FE mismatch The arrangements as outlined above create several interrelated problems for the development of a coherent 14–19 phase and for the collaboration between the various providers. First, those with QTLS qualifications are not qualified to teach in schools, even though they, unlike their QTS colleagues, may well have the relevant practical and vocational experience and qualifications for the more occupation-related courses (such as in construction, engineering, hairdressing) which are being developed in schools through the Diplomas and BTEC. Second, it is diYcult to recruit to schools those who do have the relevant skills and experience (eg brick layers, hairdressers, engineers) because they are unlikely to have the degree level background to qualify as teachers. Of course, this may not be a problem where (doubtless in the majority of cases) courses requiring such expertise and skills will be held in the colleges. But that will not universally be the case. There is, therefore, an anomaly. Teachers qualified to teach in schools can teach in FE with no further training. But qualified college lecturers, though able to teach 14–16 year-olds in the colleges, cannot do so in schools. It would not seem diYcult to sort out these problems, that is, to have a qualified teaching status which embraced both sectors, except for two hurdles. The first is that it does not help to have two diVerent bodies responsible for teacher qualifications post-16 (TDA and LLUK) leading to QTS and to QTLS respectively, especially where the latter, but not the former, is renewable only upon completion of continuing professional development (a minimum of 30 hours a year). Second, and more importantly, obtaining QTS requires a first degree, obtaining QTLS does not—and for good reason since the requirements for much of the teaching are the skills and knowledge gained through apprenticeship training and relevant occupational experience.

Widening access to QTS Important initiatives to overcome these problems and to widen access to QTS deserve more public support and higher education collaboration. For example, Barking and Dagenham LA enables Teaching Assistants to progress to part-time Foundation Degrees at East London University, and then to full degrees which enable them to be recommended for QTS. The charity, Edge, is funding teacher training programmes focused on practical learning, led by Lewisham College of FE and South Bank University. There is, therefore, a possible route for those who have the much desired industrial experience and skills to be able, part-time and in employment, to attain QTS. This “widening participation” in the teaching profession needs to be expanded if there is to be a qualified teaching force across the more practice-based curriculum. There are other programmes, too. The government’s “Transition to Teaching Programme”, school based, oVers opportunities for those already in employment, particularly scientists and engineers, to enter the teaching profession. The system is more flexible than is often realised. Therefore, as schools increasingly oVer more practical and occupation-related learning (eg in the Diplomas), it is time to consider what is meant by an “all degree profession”. Consideration could well be given to regarding certain qualifications and accredited experiences as equivalent to a degree for purposes of QTS in particular curriculum areas. There is a need to develop some institutional mechanism for comparing qualifications and experiences in relation to standards appropriate for teaching particular phases of education and training. More often than not these will include a relevant first degree, but there will no doubt be other qualifications together with relevant experience which, for purposes of QTS, could be seen as equivalent to a first degree.

Particular Issues of Recruitment and Retention However, the general picture, though relatively healthy, hides certain shortages.

Recruitment from ethnic minorities Recruitment of teachers from ethnic minority groups (they constitute just over 5% of the teaching workforce) is not proportionate to the number of students from ethnic minority communities (roughly 10% of the 14–19 cohort and about 30% in Inner London) (DCSF, 2007b). There is a particular problem arising out of the diversity of languages. Over 10% of secondary students do not have English as their ﬁrst language, mainly in the metropolitan areas (Margo et al, 2008:28/29). Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Recruiting for “challenging schools” There are growing problems in recruiting permanent staV in what are now referred to as “challenging schools”. It is estimated that in some the turnover varies between 30% and 40% per year (Smithers and Robinson, 2005). All learners need teachers who know them well and care for them, but even more so is this the case where they suVer from many disadvantages.

Recruiting for practical and vocational courses As more practice-based and occupation-related courses are promoted in schools (through the Diploma, BTEC and vocational courses), and as school/college collaboration will be required by the Welsh Assembly Government, with school providing also vocational courses, so too is there likely to be shortages of staV with relevant experience. Routes into teaching for such potential teachers might be: the appointment of instructors with the appropriate industrial experience but also with the possibility of career advancement into QTS, and the opportunities for HLTAs to study part-time for QTS. This should be pursued at a regional level to reﬂect regional or local economic circumstances. Indeed, changing local economic circumstances might make such teaching career opportunities attractive to experienced workers, as well as making such occupation-related courses desirable for young people. The demand for such teaching skills and experience will vary from locality to locality.

Recruiting teachers qualiﬁed outside the UK Within schools in certain regions there is a major dependence on teachers who were qualiﬁed outside the UK and who lack the experience and skills to teach in a way that is expected of them (eg in the sciences). For example, developments in 21st Century Science (explained in the following chapter) require a more “hands-on” approach to the teaching of science. The recruitment of overseas trained teachers by local authorities, where it is particularly diYcult to recruit science teachers, will require an intensive programme of professional development if the new recruits are to absorb the distinctive philosophy of such science programmes—a point made strongly to the Review by heads of science in an outer London borough.

Recruitment for shortage subjects There are problems in the recruitment of teachers in key areas of the curriculum, particularly in sciences, mathematics and modern languages, so much so that Education Data Surveys warned that “it is not too soon to say that, unless ﬁrm action is taken, all the good work of the early part of this decade will have been undone: it would be folly to head back into a period of extreme shortages” (EDS, 2006). Or, as the Royal Society (2007) reported, “the Government has failed to reach its initial teacher training targets for science and mathematics each year for the past decade”. For mathematics, the target in 2005–06 was 2,350; the intake was 2,010. For science, the target in 2005–06 was 3,325; the intake 2,930. Of the science teachers, it is estimated that 44% were biology specialists. Hence, there is a serious shortage of physics and chemistry teachers, thereby aVecting the number proceeding to higher education in these subjects—and thereby aVecting the numbers returning to teaching in the schools. And thereby … the vicious circle. One way forward would be for universities to adjust their courses to meet this problem in schools by oVering an extended year for those whose mathematics or science, because of lack of suitable teaching, was not suYciently advanced for entry to the university courses. Richard Pring Lead Director April 2009

Memorandum submitted by Professor Iram Siraj-Blatchford, Institute of Education, University of London Research evidence on teachers’ role in promoting high standards and child outcomes in the early years Teacher training for the early years is far from perfect. We have a paucity of courses which deal with the three to ﬁve age group and these courses have not kept pace with the current policy. They are also weak in terms of working with parents/families, and in terms of child development and practice related to the EYFS with under 3s. In my discussions with the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) they appear impotent to address these issues, stating that Government policy is to develop the Early Years Professional Status (EYPS). Despite these problems in the training currently oVered there is much in what a trained teacher brings which is important, not least the direct focus of education which gives them the skills to help children to “develop” more rapidly. In this paper I cite four key studies (all government funded) during the last decade which show the relationship between standards/quality and teachers, and the relationship between child outcomes and teachers. We do not have any comparison with EYPS, but we do with lesser qualiﬁed staV. Most EYPS come from the proliferation of Early Childhood Studies degrees (Universities were able to recruit vast numbers of students for these degrees in the wake of cuts in BEds) which have no compulsory Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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core of education and are ideally placed for working for children (eg in a charity or voluntary organisation) but not necessarily WITH them, besides some EYPS courses accept graduates from any background; horse dentistry was one I came across recently! The research evidence suggests a mix of staV with a good proportion of teachers (ideally 50%) as a powerful way of raising quality and outcomes for our youngest children.

Why teachers are needed in the EYFS In the 2006 Children Act the EYFS became part of a wider, welfare childcare and education agenda in which it became a phase in its own right. The curriculum and Ofsted arrangements are supposed to coordinate and improve entitlement and quality for children—and they do. However, less thought to entitlement and quality was provided on the workforce. The general thrust was that most pre-schoolers are in PVI settings and that we needed to raise the qualification of all to Level 3 NVQ or above and that there needed to be standards to improve qualifications and introduce the new Early Years Professional Status (EYPS, which is supposed to be equivalent to QTS) were passed on to CWDC, the body responsible for training staV working with children and care. This separated out the concerns of education where teachers are very important. Yet the EYFS states that it brings together education and care, while there is no TDA remit to train early years teachers 0–7 (there is no clear rationale as to why this is the case given the evidence base, please see below). Studies for over a decade have been showing that where teachers are involved with children the standards and outcomes are higher. Some children in the EYFS only find themselves with a share of a teacher when they enter reception class in primary school. The Children’s plan (p.55), Para 3.11, states “Our 2020 goal is that every child will be ready for success in school with at least 90 per cent developing well across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile by age five”. Other goals for staV are only possible if they meet the ultimate test of a positive impact on development and learning.

Distinctive features of teachers/QTS — Focused, supervised and assessed practice at graduate level (University supervisor often holds a doctorate or a masters degree). — Robust screening process during practice. — Additional screening, coaching in ﬁrst year of professional work. — High quality supervisors supporting students during practice. — Experienced colleagues supporting and screening and initial year practitioners. — Overseeing body for ensuring standards will meet the challenge of providing world class development and learning. — Good quality recruits. None of the above is necessarily true of the EYPS training. These features are distinctive to the graduates working in early years who are also QTS.

There has been significant supporting evidence from research over the last decade ALL government funded 1. Millennium Cohort Study summary 2005–07 (Mathers et al 2007) Millennium cohort study shows both science and mathematical quality scores are very positively aVected by the presence of a qualified teacher. 2. EVective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) Study 1997–2008 (Sylva et al 2004) Eppe showed that quality of settings and child outcomes were higher in settings with teachers. The higher the proportion of teachers the higher the quality of learning. 3. Welsh Eval of Foundation Phase 2005–06 (Siraj-Blatchford et al 2006) Welsh study shows that of literacy, mathematics, science and diversity the diVerence in outcomes between maintained and non-maintained sectors is greatest in mathematics, they are statistically significant in all four areas. As the proportion of QTS increases so do the quality ratings on ECERS-E to a significant degree. 4. Neighbourhood Nurseries Evaluation. (Teresa Smith et al 2007) see p 62.

Distinctive features which support the development and learning of young children — Support for sustained shared thinking. — Open-ended questioning. —DiVerentiation. — Good knowledge of play and development. — Observation led assessment which is used to plan next steps in learning for individuals. — Detailed planning of the curriculum and not just the “activities” or the “parts of the day”. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— Building on children’s interests. — Experiential and play based learning in which the practitioner acts as a co-player. — Opportunities to be outside learning in ways which are active and allow learning at large scale (eg on see saw investigating equality and weight). — Formative feedback. — Sharing educational aims with parents. — Subject knowledge. — Use of a range of pedagogies including guided teaching. — Supporting children’s ability to discuss analytically.

Distinctive features which support subject (or domains of) learning for young children: — Practitioners’ enthusiasm for, understanding of and confidence in subject. — Exploration through play and self-directed learning. — Direct teaching of subject skills and knowledge in meaningful contexts. — Lots of opportunities for open ended discussions of solutions, exploration of reasoning in the subject. — Exploitation of the subject in everyday activities and in play where children use and apply their knowledge, skills and understanding. — A breadth of subject specific experiences. — Understanding of the links in the subject. — Understanding of the subject concepts: for example in maths conservation of number, one to one correspondence, symbols and models, classification, and the steps which underpin these; eg counting includes: saying the numbers in sequence, matching one to one, keeping track of what has been counted, understanding that the last number they say gives the total number of objects. — Observation and discussion of practitioners engaged in assessment. — Continuous reflective dialogues and analysis of practice. — Favourable child adult ratios provided by skilled and knowledgeable staV.

Implications for practitioners: They must — Have good subject knowledge. — Have good knowledge of play based approaches and free play. — Understand the pedagogy of speciﬁc subject education and the hierarchy of conceptual development. — Understand child development and the appropriate methodologies for young children so that subject learning is approached constructively (this requires a focused, supervised and assessed practice at graduate level). — Regularly be observed, whilst engaged in assessment, discuss and hone skills.

Weakness in the current shape of EYPs to support meeting early years outcomes duties and aspirations eg of the Sir Peter Williams mathematics review: — Most of the training is conducted from FE and centres and provided for staV with a graduate status, often a degree in Early Childhood Studies, not education. Meeting early years outcomes duties; namely: — Improve young children’s development by increasing the percentage who achieve a total of at least 78 points across the foundation stage proﬁle with at least six points in each personal, social and emotional development and communication, language and literacy scale. — Improve the average FSP score of the lowest achieving group to narrow the gap between that group and the rest. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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The Standards relating to EYPs which are speciﬁcally connected to these ambitions for young children are: Knowledge and understanding required includes — S4 the main provisions of the national and local statutory and non-statutory frameworks within which children’s services work and their implications for early years settings.

Professional development required includes — S37 those awarded EYP status must demonstrate through their practice that they can lead and support others to: — Develop and use skills in literacy, numeracy and ICT to support their work with children and wider professional activities. These standards are too vague and without underpinning the training of EYPs with a focused, supervised and assessed practice at graduate level the EYPs are likely to have too little impact on outcomes for children. EYPS does not entitle staV to increased remuneration. Anecdotal evidence suggests they often go on to undertake a teaching qualiﬁcation if they can. This is wasted resource. However, teacher training does need overhauling for early years with an increased emphasis on child development, working with children under 3 and working with families to ﬁt the current children’s services agenda. June 2009

References Mathers S, Sylva K and Joshi H (2007) Quality of Childcare Settings in the Millenium Cohort Study DCSF Siraj-Blatchford, I (2006) Monitoring and evaluation of the eVective implementation of the foundation phase (MEEIFP) project across Wales foundation phase pilot: Final Evaluation Report—Roll Out Age 3–6 Years September 2004–October 2006 An Evaluation Funded By The Welsh Assembly Government. Smith, T et al (2007) National Evaluation of the Neighbourhood Nurseries Initiative: Integrated Report page 62 Research report SSU/2007/FR/024 Sylva, K, Siraj-Blatchford, I, Melhuish, T, Sammons, P and Taggart, B (1999). Technical Paper 6 Characteristics of the Centres in the EPPE Sample: Observational Proﬁles. London: Institute of Education, University of London. Sylva, K, Siraj-Blatchford, I, Taggart, B (2006) The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale—Extension. London: Institute of Education, University of London.

Memorandum submitted by the Children’s Workforce Development Council Summary 1. Following the Committee’s recent oral evidence session on early years issues the Children’s Workforce Development Council (CWDC) welcomes the opportunity to provide evidence to this review. Research evidence suggests that well-qualified leaders are a key factor in improving the quality of early learning and childcare. Through the development of Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) we have established a steady and growing supply of such leaders, substantially drawn from the existing early years workforce and are acting to ensure their valuable contributions can be developed and sustained. However, existing restrictions on access to our training risks branding EYPS as graduate leadership exclusively for private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings. We believe this is unnecessarily divisive as it undermines our eVorts to create a unified and motivated graduate profession leading the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) across the full range of early learning and childcare settings, including maintained schools. Employers, practitioners and local authorities are calling for greater clarity about the relationship between EYPS and Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). CWDC believe that over time only those with EYPS should lead delivery of the EYFS.

Background 2. CWDC is an employer-led organisation, created in 2005 to support delivery of the Every Child Matters agenda. We are an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body, sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), and part of the Sector Skills Council, Skills for Care and Development. 3. CWDC aims to improve the lives of children, young people, their families and carers by ensuring that those who work with children and young people have the best possible training, qualiﬁcations and support. We help organisations work together more closely so that children and young people are at the heart of what they do. 4. Since 2006 CWDC has delivered projects to improve the quality of early years provision. Its programme of work for the early years aims to: Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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— embed Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) as the “gold standard” for graduate leaders of practice across the EYFS; — establish a full and relevant level 3 qualification for the children and young people’s workforce (with an early years pathway) as the minimum requirement for practice; and — encourage the development of a workforce which reflects the communities it serves. 5. CWDC does not commission or regulate training for the award of Qualified Teacher Status. We understand that evidence about workforce reform in schools and the condition of ITT will be taken primarily from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). However, we are aware that the Committee has taken early years provision within the scope of this inquiry and we are very qualified to comment on workforce issues in this area. Our evidence is limited to training for Early Years Professionals and the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). 6. Where the inquiry’s terms of reference outline ITT, our submission provides evidence relevant to the training of Early Years Professionals (EYPs).

Well Qualified Leaders and Quality 7. There is a solid evidence base for the recent Government investment in graduate-led practice in early learning and childcare settings. Evidence from the EVective Provision of Pre-School Education (EPPE)123 study shows that improving the quality of the early years experience is directly related to better outcomes for children. Key factors contributing to the quality of this experience were: — well-qualified leaders of practice; — support for less qualified staV; and — staV with a good understanding of child development and learning. 8. The EPPE study drew attention to the behaviours of managers and leaders in early years settings where children’s outcomes were best enhanced. Reflective and informed leadership was highlighted as a source of good practice. In “excellent” settings, there were: — more examples of “sustained shared thinking” between adults and children; — activities initiated by both children and adults; and — engagement with parents in child-related discussion. 9. Data from the DCSF’s Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2007124 indicated that only 4% of staV in full daycare settings had graduate level qualifications compared with 45% of staV working in primary schools with reception classes. Only relevant high level qualifications are suitable to provide the basis for the positive outcomes described by the EPPE research. For these reasons we are working with our partners in Government to make sure there is a graduate leader in every full day care setting by 2015, including a graduate leader in every children’s centre by 2010 and two graduates in settings in the 30% most disadvantaged areas (also by 2015).

Early Years Professional Status 10. The Government’s response to the national consultation on the future of the children’s workforce highlighted the need for further reform of, and support for the early years workforce. In particular, the response identified the benefits of developing the role of Early Years Professional (EYP) and confirmed the Government’s aim to have EYPs in all children’s centres oVering early years provision by 2010 and in every full day care setting by 2015. 11. EYPS is a graduate award based on a set of professional standards, similar to QTS. The EYP Standards were developed in 2006 using evidence from the EPPE research, expert advice and stakeholder consultation. The Standards are outcome statements that are designed to embody what Early Years Professionals (EYPs) need to know, understand and be able to do to lead and improve the delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). 12. The wording of the Standards resonates with a wide audience since the Standards are built on the cornerstones of good practice, but the expectations of EYPs are set at graduate Level 6. They are organised in six groups — knowledge and understanding; —eVective practice; — relationships with children; — communicating and working in partnership with families and carers; — teamwork and collaboration; and — professional development.

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13. Two strands run across the Standards: an individuals’ personal practice and their ability to lead and support others. To attain EYPS, practitioners must provide evidence that they meet all the Standards. Being an EYP, however, implies more than meeting a series of discrete Standards: it is necessary to consider the Standards as a whole in order to appreciate the skill, creativity, commitment and energy required to fulfil the role. Unlike QTS, EYPS has a particular focus on the ability to lead others in the improvement of practice. 14. No hierarchy is implied by the order in which the Standards are presented. There are relationships within each group of Standards, and between the groups of Standards. For example, the knowledge and understanding outlined in the first six Standards on “knowledge and understanding” will inform all aspects of practice covered in the section entitled “eVective practice”. Successful demonstration of the Standards is dependent on a sound knowledge base in child development. 15. The assessment process is common to all candidates, regardless of their background, the setting in which they currently work, their pathway or where they did their training. The process is designed to be rigorous and consistent, thus aVording confidence to employers and maximising an EYP’s ability to work across diVerent settings delivering the EYFS. 16. Each candidate must provide separate evidence to show they have demonstrated the Standards when working with babies (0–20 months), toddlers (16–36 months) and young children (30–60 months). This ensures the Status is able to demark those who can lead across the EYFS. Similarly, the requirements for assessment ensure that candidates demonstrate elements of eVective personal practice and leadership against each group of Standards. 17. The quality of assessment and award is controlled through a national system of moderation of outcomes. CWDC has invested in a high level of control in the early development of EYPS to protect quality and reputation. In the long-term, quality controls will be eased as training and assessment practice normalises and processes become embedded within each provider’s institutional frameworks.

Routes to EYPS 18. CWDC works with 35 training providers across England to deliver EYP training and assessment. Many of them are providers of training for teachers and all of them have significant track records of working within the children’s workforce. Our training providers are required to work closely with local authorities and employers to support demand for training. Training providers draw on a pool of potential candidates, which includes foundation degree graduates, early childhood studies degree graduates, experienced practitioners without relevant degrees and new entrants to the sector. To date approximately 90% of those achieving EYPS are from the existing early year’s workforce. This contrasts strongly with the provision of initial teacher training and award of QTS where the majority of candidates are new to the sector. Our role and responsibility includes bringing in high quality candidates to the workforce but the imperative is to build the quality of the existing workforce through high quality strategic investments. 19. To cater for candidates from a range of settings and roles CWDC has to date established four “pathways” to achieving EYPS. These four pathways are — the three-month part-time validation pathway for those close to demonstrating the Standards (VALIDATION); — the six-month part-time extended professional development pathway for those with some shortfall in skills (SHORT) — the fifteen-month part-time extended professional development pathway for those who do not have a degree but do have substantial relevant experience (LONG); and — the full training pathway lasting 12 months full-time for those who have a degree but are new to the early years workforce (FULL). 20. The full training pathway is open to new entrants to the sector able to take on a year’s full-time commitment. These training programmes are required to last at least 36 weeks, 18 of which need to take place on work placement. Candidates are required to undertake at least two work placements lasting a minimum of four weeks each. 21. CWDC welcomes the DCSF’s announcement within Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare125 that it will investigate further how to bring new entrants into graduate roles by looking at lessons from the successes of “Teach First”. A step change in the quality of early years provision will be realised if these new entrants are successfully engaged into the future. 22. In the future, training will not be limited to these four pathways and CWDC is currently working on the development of a pathway which builds on the Early Childhood Studies Degree. We expect the first pathway of this type to start in September 2009.

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Candidate Profile 23. The candidate profile for the validation pathway is very well-qualified practitioners with a good body of experience working in the sector. The number of people starting this route has declined from 450 in January 2007 to 250 in September 2008. We expect this decline to continue as the supply of suitable candidates is finite.

24. Conversely, the long training pathway which draws on experienced practitioners without a degree has seen steady growth. For example, the number of candidates starting the long pathway—which draws heavily on foundation degree graduates—has almost doubled from January 2007, with 750 enrolling in September 2008. CWDC expects this growth to continue over the coming years as higher numbers of foundation degree candidates complete and start working towards EYPS. Approximately half of these new starters held foundation degrees.

Recruitment 25. Since assessment for EYPS began in late 2006, 3,116 awards have been made. There are currently 2,000 candidates registered on training pathways, with a further 2,000 expected to start training by October this year. During the rest of this ﬁnancial year CWDC expect to bring the total number of EYPS awards to 4,400 and to have an additional 2,600 candidates starting on pathways.

26. CWDC holds a database of candidates for EYPS and a list of those people who have been awarded the Status. Analysis of this database showed that of the 1,992 who had achieved EYPS by August 2008 40% held education degrees or other teaching qualiﬁcations at the start of their training. The same source indicates that 2% of EYPs are male and 8% are from black or other minority ethnic groups, which is roughly in line with workforce demographics across the early years workforce. None-the-less work is underway to ensure the workforce is more representative of the communities it serves

27. CWDC is leading a recruitment campaign to encourage take up of EYPS training and stimulate demand from employers for those with EYPS. Local relationships and activity is vital to the success of this campaign. For this reason, training providers working with local authorities are funded to deliver tailored recruitment plans. Supporting this will be national awareness raising activity which targets graduate career changers and parents of young children. For career changers and new graduates the key driver is to get them to consider a role in the early years sector. For parents it is to increase recognition of the importance of high quality early learning and childcare.

28. The two main challenges for graduate recruitment and employment are (i) the marginal profitability of private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings126 which depresses the ability to increase salaries in line with qualifications and (ii) unfamiliarity with the added value Early Years Professionals can make to settings. In response to the first challenge, the DCSF, through the Graduate Leader Fund (GLF) has provided local authorities with significant funding to pass on to employers to help fund graduate leaders in PVI full daycare settings. In response to the second challenge we are supporting and challenging local authorities and other delivery partners (National Day Nurseries Association, Pre-School Learning Alliance and National Childminding Association) to promote the benefits of employing an EYP. Research has been commissioned to provide further evidence about their impact on quality which will influence our recruitment campaign.

Professional Development 29. In 2007–09, CWDC supplied local authorities with pump-prime funding to create peer networks for EYPs to share experiences and practice. We believe these networks have provided the bedrock for ongoing “communities of practice”. All local authorities took up this funding and most provided us with a clear update of how their networks were developing. The vast majority of authorities indicated that they had good relationships with the PVI sector and had seen their network membership grow.

30. CWDC supports the wide range of continuous professional development (CPD) opportunities available across the early years sector The DCSF’s Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare127 sets out a range of important issues around CPD including a potential entitlement right across the early years sector as well as speciﬁc issues such as “Every Child a Talker” and the potential to create “Advanced Skills” graduates and a programme comparable to Teach First for early years. EYPs are well placed to lead teams across the sector and some of these programmes should form part of their ongoing development. We continue to work with colleagues to develop eVective and motivational CPD opportunities for all staV delivering the EYFS.

126 See Laing & Buisson (2009) Children’s Nurseries UK Market Report 2009: Eight Edition. 127 DCSF (2009) Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare: Building on the 10-Year Strategy. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

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Eligibility 31. EYP training and assessment, developed in partnership with the TDA, was not created exclusively for the workforce in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) settings. The Standards for EYPS and associated training were developed for those leading practice across the EYFS in the full range of settings. However, it is currently the case that employees working in maintained school settings delivering the EYFS cannot access EYP training and assessment and associated funding. 32. Employees working in full day care and children’s centres are currently prioritised for part-time training pathways. Access is limited to these people and: — those working in sessional settings; — as childminders; — local authority training staV; and — further education teachers. 33. PVI settings are rightly a government priority for quality improvement because they have fewer well- qualiﬁed staV. However, the early years workforce is mobile and not discrete to PVI settings. Workforce mobility between early years sub sectors is high; individuals choose where they work and some have more than one job in both eligible and ineligible settings. The particular sub sector from which candidates come forward for training and assessment does not necessarily retain them following achievement of EYPS. Indeed linked to the wider work of CWDC we anticipate more mobility across the entire Children’s Workforce in the future. 34. Determining access to EYP training based on where an individual currently works restricts the labour market for EYPs, preventing mobility and denying equal access for individuals. The rationale for the development of EYPS is to raise the quality of provision and improve outcomes for children. CWDC believes that this ambition will be hindered by current restrictions.

EYPS QTS 35. The early years stakeholder group, consulted as part of the refresh of the 10 Year Childcare Strategy, recommended that the relationship between QTS and EYPS be clarified.128 36. Under the EYFS Statutory Framework maintained schools and nursery classes in maintained schools are required to employ a school teacher as defined by Section 122 of the Education Act 2002 and the Education (School Teacher’s Qualifications) (England) Regulations 2003. As a condition of designation children’s centres are also required to employ a school teacher. Therefore, under current legislation and regulatory requirements it is diYcult for a practitioner with EYPS, trained to lead the EYFS and work across the birth to five years age range, to lead practice in a maintained school setting and children’s centre. This represents a de facto restraint of trade against this group of professionals. CWDC believes that over time only those with EYPS should lead delivery of the EYFS. June 2009

Supplementary memorandum submitted by Professor Sonia Blandford, Director of Leadership Development, Teach First I was concerned to see what appeared to be misunderstanding of the cost of training through Teach First within the Select Committee hearing of 15 June, and wanted to write with clarification. Michael Day referred to teacher training through Teach First as costing around £25,000. This is not an accurate picture—rather, a conflation of the salary and training costs. As all Teach First teachers teach, from Day 1, as full time members of the school staYng body, they are paid a salary. This is funded entirely by the school (there is no DCSF or TDA subsidy) and amounts to around £15,000 depending on the region the school is in. As Teach First teachers fill outstanding vacancies, these are costs which have already been allocated to the post by the school. The training cost on top of this is around £13,000, of which not all is covered by the TDA and DCSF funding. Rather, over £3,000 per teacher is raised through Teach First’s fundraising activity with other funders. I’d be grateful if you can ensure that Committee members are aware of this distinction between salary and training costs, as the way the data was presented risks giving the impression that the Teach First route into teaching is of disproportionate cost to the public purse compared to others. June 2009

128 Early Years Stakeholder Group report to Beverly Hughes Children’s Minister October 2008. Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [E] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

Ev 358 Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence

Further supplementary memorandum submitted by TDA AN UPDATE ON THE COSTS OF THE TEACH FIRST PROGRAMME Professor Blandford’s note of June 2009 sets out a per capita estimate of the costs of the Teach First programme while the TDA figure given in evidence related to the delivery of the Teach First programme as a whole in its expansion phase. The figure suggested by Professor Blandford is perhaps a guesstimate as the TDA is not aware that she has had access to the individual contracts between the TDA and the five regional providers of training.

1. Background Between 2002–09 all aspects of the delivery of the Teach First programme were funded on a contracting model. The ﬁgure of £25,000 given to the Select Committee in evidence was based on an averaging the contracted costs of the regional year long training, the summer institute, mentoring and the sums paid to Teach First to support the regional expansion and on-campus recruitment activity for the academic years 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 across the numbers of participants. The ﬁgure included costs that are unique to Teach First such as the establishment of oYces and administrative support for each regional cohort at a cost of £500,000 each.

With the regional infrastructure now in place, the TDA has in recent months developed an allocations model for the funding of the programme from 2010 onwards. Revised costs have been derived from an analysis of expenditure to date, future needs and the respective contributions of the regional and national providers. We now have an agreed per capita unit of funding for Teach First for 2010–11, assuming that the programme recruits to target.

2. The Costs of the Teach First Programme (i) Costs to the DCSF/TDA:

The cost of the annual training for QTS: £11,500 per head 3 weeks Regional summer institute: 1,750 per head 3 weeks National summer institute: £1,750 per head Mentoring costs paid to the schools £2,500 per head Total £17,500 (ii) Costs to Teach First schools: In addition, and in common with all employment based routes to QTS programmes, Teach First trainees receive a salary while in school. This is typically at the bottom of the unqualiﬁed teacher scale and the range is as follows:

National: £15,461 Fringe London £16,477 Outer London £18,366 Inner London £19,445 Finder’s fee £3,200

(Uniquely to this programme the school is required to pay a “Finder’s fee” to the Teach First organisation, payable in two instalments in the ﬁrst and second year of the programme).

Total (depending on region) £18,661–£22,645

3. The Comparison between Teach First and Standard GTP: Funding and Retention

Table 1 TDA/DCSF CONTRIBUTION

Teach First Standard GTP DCSF/TDA funded training costs 17,500 7,465 DCSF/TDA funded salary grant to 14,500 the employing school Total 17,500 21,965 Processed: 03-02-2010 22:49:33 Page Layout: COENEW [O] PPSysB Job: 434572 Unit: PAG6

Children, Schools and Families Committee: Evidence Ev 359

Table 2 SCHOOL CONTRIBUTIONS

Teach First Standard GTP Average employing school salary 17,923 3,012 contribution including employer’s NICs (not covered by salary grant) Finders fee 3,200 Total 21,123 3,012

Table 3 TOTAL

Teach First Standard GTP DCSF/TDA funded training costs 17,500 7,465 DCSF/TDA funded training grant 14,500 plus salary grant to the employing school Average employing school salary 17,923 3,012 contribution including employer’s NICs (not covered by salary grant) Finders fee 3,200 Total 38,623 24,977 Trainee teachers1 100 100 QTS completers 96 91 In service after three years 60 80 1 Out of every 100 trainee teacher starting on the TFP typically we might expect 96 to be awarded QTS and 60 to be in teaching service three years later. These ﬁgures are derived from an exercise which has matched TDA’s ITT performance proﬁles records to GTC records for the four years 2004–05 to 2007–08. Notes — The majority of the TDA/DCSF funding for Teach First is for training; the majority of the funding for GTP is directed to salary. — The proposed expansion of additional 40 places in the NE will generate an additional requirement for £500,000, over and above the additional per capita costs, to establish the regional support structure. — The TDA has no evidence that other benefactors and private sector supporters contribute to the costs of training leading to the award of QTS. It is our understanding that any additional funds raised through fundraising activity support the leadership development elements of the Teach First programme. December 2009

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